


The Risen Curtain

by AnthroLover



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Anthropomorphic, Fantasy, Gen, Magic, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2020-06-26 13:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 91,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19769053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnthroLover/pseuds/AnthroLover
Summary: The world is always changing. This is a certain truth. It changed when the city of Zootopia was founded, and it changed once again thanks to the actions of two brave mammals, or at least it began to change. Sometimes, changes comes not as the appearing of something new, but as the return of something that was lost or hidden. Magic is real, and now mammals know it. What happens now?





	1. Prolog: Time for Vengeance

The World is a beautiful place. Landscapes of unmatched beauty. Fresh fields of grass, which would bloom in a thousand colors each spring. Life booming from all sides and in all styles.

But still… why it was such a horrible place to live in?

_Curse them…_

It was not the place. For it was beautiful beyond all understanding. That is something I have always known.

Curse them...

It was not the creatures that scrawled around and ate each other. They merely followed what nature told them to do. It was not their fault, they only did what they were supposed to do.

Curse them.

It was not the events made by the wrath of nature. These were merely the world spinning, moving and changing all that was on it. Something was out of place, so nature corrected itself. It was how it worked. I know that pretty well.

Curse them!

Them why? Why the world is such a horrible place to live?

Well, the answer is simple, and is one that I know very well:

Mammals.

**Curse them!**

They spread across this world like a plague, and they consumed what was on their sight. They saw something that they liked, and instead of leaving it be, as they should with anything so marvelous, like any other creature would, they wanted to claim it for their own. Make it their property so they could have something out of it.

**Curse them!**

If they saw something that was unpleasant for them, or that they didn't understand, they wanted to get rid of it without regard for others, only because it was something that didn't felt like they had to tolerate.

**Curse them! Curse them!**

They took everything for granted, and they ruined the world.

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

They were unable to accept difference, and they were quick to find a target for their anger. They turned on each other.

They are unable to get along, and they attack and kill each other for the most stupid reasons, making a mess of this world.

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

They would change the world to fit their own ideas and when unsatisfied, they would always search for more.

They would cheat, lie, steal, sin, kill and destroy, not because nature told them to, but because they were moved by their own greed, their own lusts, their own ambitions, and their own unspeakable desires.

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

They destroyed and oppressed each other. Big mammals would move forward by trampling into the smaller. They would redistribute the resources that should belong to everyone so they could have more while others starved and died of cold and suffering.

They wagged war for the most stupid motives, destroying themselves and the world around them.

They destroyed nature and balance that was delicately built for the shake of satisfying their needs, and even though they saw what disastrous end they were going, they continued on that path.

They invented concepts, biases, bigotries, prejudices and pre-fabricated truths on a whim. Giving themselves more reasons to have envy, to despise, to fight, to kill, to resent.

To Hate.

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

So, it was not the World's fault if it was horrible to live in it.

The World was not cruel.

Never the World.

It was mammals.

They were the ones who ruined the World.

They were the ones who made it a horrible place to live.

They were to blame.

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

**Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!**

I feel a breeze on my face. The smell from it reaches my nostrils as if it was a sweet perfume.

My eyes snap open, and I look.

I see the World.

I look at it as if it was the first time I ever saw it, even though this is very far from being the truth.

I see everything that I love before my eyes.

I also see what I hate.

Mammals.

Millions of them.

I feel revulsion for looking at them.

Only knowing that they are there makes my body clench in disgust.

I know that it is not their fault.

I know that they cannot avoid being like that. It is just their nature, just like it is the nature of the fish to swim, of the eagle to fly, and of the mosquito to suck on blood.

I know. I understand. I forgive them.

Of course, knowing, understanding, and forgiving does not make their existence bearable.

Actually, somehow it makes me hate them even more.

I want to hurt them.

I want to kill them.

I want to see them squirm.

I want to see them burn.

They are all my enemies. Every single mammal alive is my enemy. So, I must wage war against them, like they do with anything they consider their enemy.

Once more, the World is moving.

A change comes in the horizon, and I am in the center of it.

The time has come.

**Time for Vengeance**


	2. The Last Day Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day in Zootopia, as our favorite duo of cops live their lives.
> 
> None of them can imagine just how radically their world is about to change...

_"Reality is something fickle._

_We all want to believe that reality is something firm and solid. Immutable. Something eternal, in which we can rely on to be constant. To be something that would never change, so we will have an anchor to our own existences._

_But reality is not like that._

_Reality changes. The world changes with each revolution, and no matter how much we want it to remain the same, the world will never stop spinning for a moment, and no mammal in the world is able to force it to remain, not even with all of their power and influence, for the nature of reality is to change. The nature of the world is to change. At one moment, what we see as fact, might prove itself to be wrong, and at this moment, all of our values and perceptions will be put to the test, as the new reality will make us question what we think to be the truth, and challenge us to adapt or abandon our truth._

_We might not like to accept change, but once it happens, we must, because otherwise, we will be left out by the changes, and we will invariably be crushed by the weight of the changed reality._

_For reality, as much as it is fickle, it is absolute. We must always accept reality, no matter how strange it might seem. As we, mere mammals, can hardly force reality to adapt to our ideas, and as so, we have to adapt our ideas to reality, like all mammals who live in this world…"_

"NICK!"

The fox nearly jumped out of his own uniform and fur as he heard the voice of the bunny screaming on his ear after she had pulled the phone that was on it as he heard the speech of a character of a short movie on his cell phone at EweTube. A sci-fi thing regarding alien contact.

"Have you listened to what I have just said?" Judy asked him, looking straight at his face as the fox said nothing, and he merely removed the phone from his other ear, rolled the phones up, and deposited both it and his phone back on his pocket.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" He said, trying to look smug, and Judy only sighed, and she turned her attention back to the road as she continued to drive.

"As I was saying…" Judy spoke, as she drove them across the road. "Chief Bogo said that we will be in charge of investigating that new ring of illegal fighting that is going on in Downtown. I was saying that it would be nice if we could talk to one of your contacts on the matter, ask them if they have heard anything over the subject."

Nick listened and nodded.

"Well, we could actually try, but I do not assure that any of them would be willing to talk to the cops." The fox said, matter-of-factly. Ever since Nick had changed his profession, exactly one year ago, on that very same day, most of his old "associates" had moved away from him. Of course, as he had moved from a simple street hustler to Zootopia's first fox cop, the kind of people he used to hang out with didn't quite felt like being around him anymore.

"Well, it is still worth a shot." Judy said as her amethyst eyes continued to look forward into the road ahead of her. "We can try Finnick first. You two were always very close, and he knows his way around the city as well as you do."

"Yeah, still, I feel like the little guy and I have been drifting apart ever since I started wearing blue." Nick said to her, "For instance, he used to tell me about all of his girlfriends, even though I didn't ask him, and just last month when I asked him about his 'special lady friend', he looked like he was ready to bite my nose off." He said, remembering the event, "I think the badge was the only thing that actually held him back."

Judy chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, Officer Wilde, enough talking." She said as she continued to drive across the road, taking a turn and now heading Downtown. "We have work to do."

Yes, they did had work to do.

This was his work now.

If two years ago, someone had come to Nick Wilde and told him that he was going to change professions, he was going to raise his eyebrow and ask them what kind of job he was going to be offered.

If they had answered to him that he was going to become a cop, Nick would have laughed very hard about it, because it could only be a joke. Foxes were not trustworthy even to have decent jobs, even less to have badges. This was something that was just out of reach for him. He had accepted that a long time ago, just the day following the unfortunate incident with the Ranger Scouts.

Nick flinched internally on remembering that event, as it still had effects on him, even after so long.

However, there he was, wearing proudly his police uniform and his badge, which was put on his chest exactly one year ago by that same bunny girl who was currently driving their cruiser. This was his life now, working with the law, upholding the very same oath that he had once made within the Ranger Scouts.

Oh, how he would love to meet the same kids from years ago and show himself to them on his police uniform. To see the look in their faces when they saw that the same fox they didn't let join their troop had made it to the ZPD.

That was still the type of satisfaction that Nick was still going to have, meanwhile, he was happy to know that each day on the job was a day that he was doing something meaningful with his life.

Of course, he was not busting drug cartels or chasing after serial killers every day, as they showed on ZSI, or in Paw & Order. Most days it was calm, usually investigating some disturbances, maybe apprehending some minor scammer, or even chasing a speeding car. Still, there were days in which they had some big case to investigate.

Just like the assignment they were given that day about an illegal fighting ring that had come to the attention of the ZPD. It was one of these places where two mammals would step inside a cage and a lot of drunken and bloodthirsty dudes would get around to cheer and to bet on how was going to come out victorious. It was kind of like MMA, but way more brutal, if their intel was to be believed.

Mammals were allowed to use anything that they wanted, including knives and bats. Predators were allowed to bite and claw. Rhinos were allowed to gore the enemy with their horns. Zebras were allowed to stomp fallen enemies with their hooves until their bones broke. It was the kind of event that mammals with a weak heart or stomach should not watch.

It seemed like the kind of case that two of the top officers of the ZPD should bust.

Their first stop was Finnick, and as Nick expected, the fennec fox was not exactly willing to help them. While he was not openly hostile to them, he was cordial, he heard what they had to say and to ask, and he was clear on his answer.

"Yeah, maybe I heard something about that." The little mammal said as he removed his shades from his face, looking at the two cops as he leaned over the open window of his van. "Something about mammals getting in cages and beating the snot out of each other until one of them could no longer stand. I heard that last guy who was in there was so beaten that he could barely open his eyes, and don't even ask me about the one who lost the fight."

This was the kind of thing that made mammals shiver, and Nick was pretty sure that Judy had also felt one running down the fur of her back.

"I don't get involved with these guys." Finnick said categorically. "They are too violent for my tastes. Anyways, I'm trying to move away from that type of scene for good. I even got a job in a nice place."

"Oh, is my little buddy going legit?" Nick said, lowering his own shades as he looked at the small mammal, who glared back at him. "Is it my influence on you? Or would that be the lady friend of yours?"

Finnick looked at him as if he wanted to bore holes on Nick's skull just with his gaze.

"I'm going to hurt you." Finnick said, glaring at the bigger fox, "Badge or no badge, I'm going to hurt you pretty bad, Wilde."

Nick chuckled, and Judy was quick to get in the way before things could escalate.

"These kinds of things are too dangerous." Judy said, "With this level of violence in the matches it is only a matter of time before someone ends up leaving in a body bag." She spoke with a deadly serious expression on her face. "We need to put them down, and any help is welcome."

Finnick looked at the bunny girl, and after a few moments, he sighed.

"I going to ask around a friend or two." He said as he fixed his shades back on his face. "Maybe one of them knows when the next match is going to happen, but don't hold your hopes up."

"Thank you." Judy said, and the fennec just closed his window and started to drive away.

"You make me proud, little guy!" Nick said, and the van drove away, leaving the two mammals behind as they looked at each other. "This went better than expected. I was pretty sure he was going to have his bat on his paw… So, what now?"

"We continue our investigation, of course!" Judy said, with that determined look that Nick knew all too well.

* * *

Their investigation consisted more into going around Downtown, asking around the streets to some mammals that were either informants or old contacts from Nick.

His change of profession had made Nick less popular, but he still got some mammals who still talked to him, and they were at least willing to hear them out before they told them both to beat it.

Some of them were most civic than others.

Of course, it seemed that they all either didn't know about the specific subject or didn't want to talk about it with the cops. The one or two that actually said anything didn't say anything that the two cops didn't already know or heard about.

This investigation was proving to be quite a difficult one.

"Sir, we really would like some information." Judy said to the hyena dressed all in black, as the guy only looked down on her.

"Information, huh?" The hyena dude said, as he looked her up and down. "Okay, what about this…" He leaned over, gesturing Judy to come closer. She leaned over, and the hyena whispered in her ear.

"I'm normally not into bunnies. But you got some nice pair of hips." He whispered to her, "Maybe I can get some information on these rings you are talking about and maybe, as a thank you, you could come visit me at my place, candle lights. What do you say?"

Nick felt tension as his eyes adopted a glare behind his shades, he could feel his lips curling as if they were getting him to ready to snarl. Meanwhile, Judy moved back and stared daggers at the hyena with an annoyed expression, before turning around and marching off.

"The offer will be up, sweet bun." The hyena said to the angry bunny as she continued to stomp away. "Just come looking for 'Laughing Joe' if you change your mind! You are pretty small, but I'm sure that we can make it work!" The hyena guy finished with a cackling laugh, which his species was so famous for.

The fox glared at the hyena for a few more seconds, before turning around and walking after Judy, who stomped the ground in anger as she walked back to their cruiser.

Once they reached, she slammed the door, and Nick walked in right after her, closing his own door. The bunny looked as if she was ready to punch someone in the face. Nick looked at her, and after a second, the bunny let out a frustrated and angry grunt as she slammed her head in the steering wheel.

"I told you that we should not talk to him." Nick said as he had warned her about this "Laughing Joe". He was famous for being the kind that had information on the area, but he was the kind who always wanted _something_ in return.

"Can you believe the way he talked to me?!" Judy asked her partner. "As if it was normal to make these kinds of proposals! Sweet cheese and crackers! I should have arrested him for that! Talking to a law officer like that!"

"Yeah, old Laughing Joe does not have a lot of respect for police authority… or any authority, for that matter." Nick said, "Well, we already know that we can't count on him, anyway."

"We don't have a lead!" Judy said in frustration. "We have been going through Downtown all morning, and we don't have a single solid lead!"

"Well, we knew that this case was not going to be easy." Nick said to her. "It is not like we could go around, ask a few questions, and figure it out in no time at all, like we did with the case of that car dismantling squad last week, right?"

Judy kept her head in the steering wheel for a while, and she sighed, and Nick knew that he had made a score.

"I know, Nick. I know." The bunny admitted in defeat. "Is just that… It is so frustrating not having at least one lead! It is nearly 1:00 PM and we don't have a single significant lead."

"1:00 PM, really?" Nick asked, checking his phone to confirm the time, and indeed, he saw that there were just a few minutes short of the one of the afternoon. "Man, time really does fly! We almost lost lunch!"

The fox looked up from his phone and looked around, and he sighted a small place that offered food nearby, and he suddenly decided that it was time for a quick bite.

As he opened his door, the bunny turned her head to him, and she asked:

"Where do you think you are going?"

"To grab some grub." Nick said, "Armies cannot march with empty stomachs, and neither can foxes."

"Nick, we have a serious case in our paws. You cannot be seriously thinking about food at a time like that, can you?" She asked, and Nick was about to answer when a grumbling sound answered first.

It was a stomach, but Nick was sure that was not his own.

Judy's face and ears became pinkish with a blush as her own stomach betrayed her, and Nick only gave her a knowing smile as he looked at the bunny.

"Any requests?"

Judy looked at him with an annoyed expression, and she sighed in defeat. "See if they have anything with carrots."

Nick nodded, and stepped out of the cruiser.

"Be back in five minutes tops, depending on the size of the line."

* * *

A little over five minutes was the time that Nick had taken into the line.

The eating place was more for predators, so they had a nice collection of fishes and birds, but they also had some good options for herbivores. Nick picked for himself some fried chicken that smelled just divine, and he chose some special steamed rice loaded with mushroom and veggies. They also had options for desserts, and so, Nick picked a blueberry muffin and a slice of carrot cake.

After paying, Nick was walking out of the place and back to the cruiser with the bag with the food for himself and his partner on his paw, and he walked calmly and quite happily, looking forward to sinking his teeth into that fried chicken…

"… so, on the next match, it will be a lion against a bison. They're promising that this time there will actually be blood spilled."

Nick's ear twitched as it moved in the direction to the place where the voice was coming from.

Nick gave a few steps back and leaned back as he looked inside of the alley that he had just passed. It was dark and dirty, the stereotypical dark alley where criminal types would meet in order to discuss important their illegal dealings and subjects.

In it, Nick could see two mammals. One of them was a coyote, and he was dressed into common clothing, with brown fur and golden eyes. In front of him was standing a tiger who was dressed in black and tore clothing. The tiger was looking down on the coyote, while this looked back at him with an excited expression.

"They say that the bison is an ex-fighter who was kicked out of the professional circles for being overly violent, and the lion is addicted to catnip! These two guys are both crazy, and this battle can actually escalate! We got to go see it! We might actually see someone lose a limb!"

Nick raised an eyebrow at what he was hearing. _"Well, what are the chances?"_ the fox thought to himself, and he continued to hear.

"We have other plans this week, and you know it." The tiger said.

"Oh, come on! It might be the best one yet!"

"Forget it. We already have a thing to do." The tiger said firmly, "Besides, I don't think that the boss would allow after what you did in the last one."

"Oh, you mean _that_?" The coyote said. "Okay, so maybe I hypnotized the two fighters to fight a little better, what is the problem? No one noticed…"

Nick's eyebrow raised at this. Had he really heard "hypnotize"? Like the stage magicians?

"You were reckless." The tiger said, "We cannot go doing this with just anyone, people will notice. Why do you even wanna go see that, anyway? Two Mundanes attacking each other like savages until one of them drops. Big deal. We can see that anywhere in the street around this neighborhood."

"It is exciting!" The coyote said, looking up at the tiger. "Two mammals into a confined space, forced to fight for supremacy and survival! Just like in ancient times! Don't tell me that it does not make you even a little bit thrilled."

"It doesn't." The tiger said, and the coyote looked deflated.

"Okay, so I'm gonna go alone…" The coyote said, pouting a little bit, almost like a child. "I just need you to give me some money for the tickets."

"Forget it." The tiger said firmly, like a parent to a child who was insisting for a toy. "We don't have time for this, not this week. The boss needs both of us for the ritual, and we need to do it quickly before one of the clans notices that we are symphony energy from a Ley Line."

"Oh, come on! These guys don't even know we exist!"

"They have eyes and ears everywhere in this city." The tiger said in a hushed tone. "They are the Second Owners of this whole place, and they will not be happy with someone using the Ley Lines without their permission. So, we are going to make this ritual and go back to the shadows before any of them gets the wiser. The last thing we need is the clans contacting the Association and sending the Enforcers on us, or worse yet, coming after us themselves."

Nick had been listening for a less than a minute, and he was already sure that these guys were up to something.

Not only were they talking to each other in secret, but they also were using many terms that the fox was sure that could only be some kind of secret code.

Rituals. Ley lines. Mundanes.

Yep, surely a code and the only people who talked in this code were the ones who wanted to hide something. Be you a criminal plotting something with your felons, to a team of law officers coordinating a busting into a criminal organization, and even to spies doing their spy things.

Now, who were these guys, and why were they talking in code?

Well, there was a simply way to find out.

"Hey, there!" Nick said as he walked into the alley, startling the two mammals as they turned to look at the fox who just walked in. They both looked at him surprised when the fox on police uniform walked ahead with a smug smirk on his face, and he greeted both.

"Nice evening to gather into a dark and ominous alley, ain't it?"

The two mammals looked at him; the tiger was the one who spoke:

"And who are you?"

"Oh, I'm just your everyday fox cop walking into the dark alleys of Downtown." Nick said, "You know, going with my partner on our cruiser, buying is some grub." He said, showing the bag he had on with him, "Hearing two suspicious mammals talking about an even more suspicious subject…"

This got the attention of the two bigger predators, as they looked at the fox.

"Say that again?"

"What, about the grub?" Nick asked, feigning ignorance, "Oh, right! About the suspicious subject! Well, I'm not exactly the kind of fox who lurks around to see if he can listen for something someone else is saying, but I was just walking across the street when I heard something that piqued my interest, and I could not avoid hearing what you two spoke."

The two mammals looked at the fox, the tiger glaring at him, as he stepped forward.

"What exactly did you heard, fox?" He asked in a slow and serious tune, and Nick could not help but feel a shiver going down his spine, but he hid it well.

"Well, it started with some talk about what could be an illegal fighting ring around the area." He spoke calmly, "Then it escalated to some talk about 'rituals' and 'clans', or something of the like." He said as the two mammals continued to look at him. "So, what is this, some kind of code, or are those new slangs I'm not familiar with?"

The tiger glared daggers at the fox, and the coyote held him by the arm.

"Calm down, dude." He said to the tiger, "We cannot call attention, remember?"

"He heard us!" The tiger whispered back to the coyote.

"He has no idea what we just said." The coyote answered back, and Nick looked at the two, as they talked as if they had forgotten that Nick was still right there.

"Still, we cannot just let him walk away after he heard us!" The tiger said, and this made Nick's ears perk.

The two mammals looked at him, as the fox looked back at them.

"I got this." The coyote said and walked forward. Nick immediately took a step back, and his free hand went to the dart gun that was on his holster, holding the butt of the weapon as the coyote walked in his direction.

"Ow, ow. Hold on." The fox said, but the coyote raised his paws.

"Just relax, Mr. 'Police Officer'." The coyote said as he started to make some gestures with his paws. "It will only take a few moments."

Nick looked at the coyote, as he started to make some gestures in the air. Most of it was consisted of the coyote spinning his claws in the air and making some strange positions with his paws. Nick looked at it, as the gestures were starting to get repetitive, forming a pattern.

It was… somewhat mesmerizing. Nick felt his vision blurring slightly, and for a moment, he could swear that he saw the paws of the coyote glowing.

Nick looked at it, and then he blinked, this was enough to clear his mind, as he blinked again, and he looked at the coyote.

What the heck was that?

"What are you doing?" The fox asked, his hand was still holding the butt of his dart gun, and the coyote looked at him surprised, before looking at his own paws.

"This don't usually fail…" The coyote said to himself, and he looked back at the fox. "Okay, let's try again." He said as he raised his paws once more.

"Okay, okay, I don't know what you are doing, but you better stop." Nick said, holding his gun a little tighter.

"Okay, you just need to relax dude." The coyote said as he started to repeat the gestures. "Soon you won't remember you met us, and you will have time to go to your party. By the way, this police officer costume you are wearing is very convincing."

"Well, thank you." Nick said to him, "They gave me when I joined the ZPD. By the way, it is not a costume."

"Yeah, right…" The coyote said with a smile of who knows it.

"No, seriously." Nick said, as his other hand let go of the bags and pulled out his badge to show them. "You are talking to no other than Officer Nicholas P. Wilde."

Right after Nick said these words, the smile on the coyote's face disappeared, his hands stopping in midair as he looked at the fox as if he had just seen a ghost.

"W-w-what?" The coyote said as the color drained away from his features. "Y-you are…"

"Zootopia's first fox cop." Nick said with a twinge of pride, and he looked at the coyote. "What, you hadn't noticed?" He asked. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that I am a famous guy." He said casually as he put his badge back on his belt, seeing the coyote clearly lose his nerve was boosting Nick's own confidence enough to him have his smugness back.

The coyote gave a step back, now looking genuinely scared.

"I-I was… I mean. W-we were just… I-I was not really trying to… We… We will be leaving now, sorry for bothering you!" The coyote said, and he started to walk away.

"Hey, hey! Wait!" Nick said, and the coyote stopped on his tracks, his tail tucked between his legs. Nick had a raised eyebrow as the coyote looked over his shoulder to the fox, and Nick could see the fear on his eyes.

All of that just because he now knew that Nick was a cop?

"Before you go, I want to ask a few questions." Nick said, and the coyote looked over at him.

"S-sure… whatever you say, sir." The coyote said, turning around and standing for the fox, fear clear on his body language. Nick had a raised eyebrow at this, but he decided to ignore it for now and focus on the thing that was important.

"Okay, about what I heard you two saying…"

The coyote became even paler.

"O-oh… about the Ley Lines?" The coyote said, and Nick could sense the panic surging in his voice. "We w-were going to a-ask for permission, but, this ritual we have to do is kind of urgent so… W-we just wanted to avoid bureaucracy, but we are willing to pay a fee if you want. T-there is no need to involve the Association, right?" he asked with the biggest fake smile that Nick had seen in the past years. The fox only looked at him for a few moments, before saying:

"Oookay? Well, anyway, I was going to ask about that illegal fight you were talking."

"Oh, _that_?" The coyote asked, seeming actually relieved. "S-sure, what about it?"

"Wait a minute!" The tiger said, stepping forward and glaring at the fox. "Are you really who you say you are?"

Nick looked at him. "Man, I really thought that I was a famous guy. I mean, I was in the newspaper and everything. Of course, it was a year ago. Anyway, you can do a little research online, Nicholas Wilde. Wilde writes W-I-L…"

"I know how to write it!" The tiger snapped at him, and Nick actually got a bit startled by this. "But how can we know you really are who you claim to be?"

"Want to see my badge again?"

"Dude, what are you doing?" The coyote whispered. The tiger ignored him and continued to glare at the fox.

"Show me your mark!" The big feline demanded.

"Say what now?" Nick asked, confused.

"You say you are a Wilde, right? Show me the mark, so we know that you are with the clan." The tiger nearly demanded, glaring daggers at the fox.

Mark? Clan?

"Dude, stop it!" The coyote said, "We don't need a problem with the clans, you said it yourself!"

"Why would one of them be with the ZPD?" The tiger asked him, "They wouldn't bother joining the mundane police unless they were plotting something."

"He got to be one of them! You saw how he resisted my hypnosis? No mundane could do that!"

"It doesn't mean he is of the clan!" The tiger said, and he turned back at the fox. "So, if you really are a Wilde, and not some two-bit spellcaster using the clan's name, show me some proof!"

Spellcaster? What were these two talking about!?

Nick looked at them as he tried to make sense of what they were saying, the coyote, however, seemed to interpret it as a sign that the fox was getting mad, and he hurried.

"Okay, it was nice talking to you, Mr. Wilde. We are leaving, and hope you are okay." He said, forcing his big tiger partner and they were already walking out when the fox stopped him a second time.

"Wait! The fight!" Nick said, and the coyote turned to him.

"Oh, yeah, it will be a lion against a bison, in two or three days, in old storage near the docks. You should look for Slimy Tusks, he is the one who handles the propaganda and the tickets." The coyote said in a hurry, sounding like he just wanted to get that over with and leave.

Nick was about to question him on something else when his attention was diverted by a buzzing coming from his waist followed by the familiar voice of a certain bunny.

" _Nick!_ " Judy's voice buzzed from the radio that Nick carried. " _Nick, it has been more than five minutes! Where are you?_ "

This caused Nick to have his full attention deviated to the radio for just about a few seconds, and when he looked back at the two mammals, they were no longer there.

Nick was alone in the street, with no tiger or coyote in sight.

"What the…" Nick said as he wondered just how two mammals could disappear like that...

" _Nick! Are you listening?_ " Judy's voice chimed in again by the radio. " _What, are you in the restroom, or something? ... wait, you are not in the restroom, are you?_ "

Nick took a few moments, but he reached for his radio, and he finally picked it up to answer. "Y-yeah? No, I'm okay. It's just… the line was a little long." He looked over the empty alley one more time, before picking up the bags with the food and walking out of it.

" _Well, you certainly were taking your time. I'm starved._ "

"Yeah, don't worry, Carrots, I've got the food." Nick said as he walked to the cruiser. "I also got some lead on the case."

* * *

Nick described what had happened to Judy while they ate, and the bunny almost forgot her food as she listened to Nick's account of the facts.

She was a bit scared at the fact that her partner was facing against two bigger and stronger predators all by himself, and quite angry with him for not having called her for backup.

On the other paw, she was quite glad that they had actually gotten what seemed to be a solid lead.

Matter of fact, Nick knew "Slimy Tusks", it was a dirty hog who walked around that neighborhood and who was said to have his stinky hooves on many things that were dubious. Nick actually felt like kicking himself for not thinking of going to him for information sooner.

The thing was, ever since Nick went blue, Slimy Tusks was one of the mammals who totally cut ties with him. He remembered the last conversation that he had with the greasy boar, as he told Nick that he better not ever show his snout in front of him again and that he better not start snitching, otherwise he would regret it dearly.

Now, Slimy Tusks was not violent, but he could talk loud if he wanted. Anyway, Nick was not snitching on him, for he had taken a position of not turning in anyone from his past for what was in the past. Even because, there were few things that Nick could tell the ZPD that wouldn't put _him_ in trouble as well.

Anyway, it was a lead, and it was something that they both could pursue. However, Nick knew that Slimy Tusks would never talk with them or anyone else if he smelled cops, so they would need to be a little subtle if they wanted to get the needed information they wanted from the boar.

The rest of the information was useful too. Now they knew an approximate place and date.

"We can tell the others and they will be able to organize an apprehension." Judy said, "Maybe Bogo will even let us participate since we were the ones who found this out."

"I'm sorry, _we_?" Nick said, his trademark smirk on his face, and Judy only looked at him quite annoyed.

"Yes, _we_." Judy said, "We are partners, remember?"

"Yeah, but I remember that you were here in the cruiser while I got the information out of the two suspicious mammals. Or am I imagining it, Carrots?"

"Oh, Nick…" Judy said, rolling her eyes. Nick chuckled, and so did Judy, in the end, they knew that it was all in good fun. Still, she got serious for a while.

"Who were these two, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know." The fox said as he took another bite on his chicken. "Maybe your everyday thugs going around Downtown and doing things that they weren't supposed to be doing."

"Yeah, but for what you said it sounded like they were up to something." Judy said, "Shouldn't we try to look for them?"

"Yeah, maybe, I'd like to ask a thing or two on them…" Nick admitted, there was something about these two that was just nagging at him…

"Did you said that they backed away when they found out your name, right?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, it was as if they just found out that they were picking up a fight with Mr. Big's son-in-law." Nick said, "Actually, I think they were more scared of my name than of my badge. That's gotta be a first."

"What? Is your family powerful or something?" Judy asked, and Nick only shook his head.

"Nah, not at all." The fox said, "It is not like 'Wilde' is the name of a great enterprise or of some lineage of hustlers who took money from kings and emperors. I mean, my mom works as a receptionist, and she was a waitress before that. As for my father… well, I'm pretty sure that the guy was not that important, even though I've never met him."

"Then why were these two afraid of you?" Judy asked.

"Well, maybe they knew that I was partners with a certain long-eared ball of fluff who took down the ex-Mayor Bellwether one-and-a-half year ago, and who some know that has a little friendship with a certain arctic shrew from Tundratown."

Nick smiled at her, but Judy was still not quite letting it go.

"What about these things they were talking about? Rituals and 'ley lines'? What even _is_ a 'ley line'?"

"Beats me." Nick said, "But the guys in Mystic Springs always say that they need to 'harmonize the ambiance of the place with the ley lines', or some other mumbo jumbo. Maybe is some kind of code for something?"

"And they called you a 'spellcaster'?" She asked, and Nick shrugged.

"Yeah, I didn't get it either."

This got Judy thinking, wondering just what they could possible mean by these words.

"And they were acting as if they expected me to know what they were talking about." Nick said, "I would have asked them what that was all about when I took my eyes of them for one second and they vanished."

Judy nodded. She was beamed at Nick for having lowered his guard against two strange and hostile mammals like that, even if for just a few seconds. She was not sure if she believed that thing of them having "disappeared", but she also had no reasons to doubt Nick's word.

"Did you had a good look at these two?" She asked him, "Would you probably recognize them if you saw them again?"

"A lion and a coyote, they are easy to spot. And you know that I'm a good physiologist." Nick said, "I'm pretty sure I would remember the faces of these two if I met them on the street."

Judy nodded. "Maybe we should take a look at the station, see if we have these two in the records, maybe they have files… I still find it suspicious that they were so keen on your family name."

Nick shrugged. "Yeah, they wanted a proof that I was a Wilde. That I was 'with the clan'. As if I was Irish or something."

Judy made notes on all that Nick said, both regarding their current case and the observations on the run-in that the fox had with these two mammals. She would have to take a look at that later on, because if they truly had gotten a problem with Nick they could come for him later on.

"We should be ready for these two if they come back." Judy said, "Tell me if you see both again, okay?"

"As you wish, Carrots." Nick said, "You had to see that coyote, though. He was actually trying to hypnotize me, waving his hands and everything. He was just missing the watch to swing in front of my muzzle while he said 'you are falling under my power'. Man, I bet he is great at a party."

Judy rolled her eyes, and she put her pen and notebook aside, as she got ready to drive again. "Okay, enough of this, time to go back to work." She said as she started the cruiser, and Nick smiled.

"Good thinking, Officer Carrots." He said, "If we go back to the job now, we can finish it in time for our movie weekend."

* * *

A lot changed in Nick's life ever since he became a cop, at precisely one year ago, February 2nd of 2017. For beginners, he started to walk in police cruisers on the front seats, instead of the back, and he was actually the one who was chasing after criminals, instead of running _from_ the police.

Before his change of careers, his worst fear was of being caught and arrested by a cop who was smarter than your average cop. Now, his personal boogieman was the paperwork that was related to the work of an officer. Way more than Nick ever imagined, it can be added.

Finally, Nick had developed a new tradition for his weekend nights. From spending his night alone and looking for some cheap excuse for entertainment, he changed to meet with his bunny friend at her apartment and have a nice movie on CatFlix and some pizza or another good food.

At that night, they took a particularly long time to end their shift, as Judy was insistent into looking into these two mammals that Nick had run into. It took Nick's insistence and Bogo's promise that he would look into that to make her let go of it.

With this, they ended their shift, trade from their uniform to their casual clothes, and took a metro to Judy's place, upon arriving, they could hear something:

"I told you I was not making dinner tonight! Right before you left!"

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes, I did! It is not my fault that you were in such a hurry that you didn't hear me!"

"I was in a hurry because you didn't woke me up like I asked you, so I got late for work!"

"I called you! But you told me to leave you alone so you could continue to sleep!"

"You should have tried to call me again!"

"I called you three times!"

"You should have tried a fourth!"

"Oh, shut up! I have more important things to do than watching over your chronograms!"

"Oh, _you_ shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"I see our dear Oryx-Antlersons are home already." Nick said as he had already had the "pleasure" of meeting Judy's crazy neighbors. Hearing their squabbles had proven to be an interesting experience, and while it made him quite uncomfortable on the first time that he heard it coming from the next door, it proved to be quite the comedy material. Nick could already imagine something like that being part of a sitcom.

"What I'm going to eat? I'm hungry!"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic! Just call get the phone and call for some grub!"

"Why don't _you_ call some grub?"

"Because I already ate!"

"But I haven't! So you should call some food for me!"

"I'm not your butler!"

"I see that the subject is, once more, dinner." Nick said as Judy unlocked the door and she and Nick walked inside.

"Hey, boys! I'm home!"

"Hey, Hopps!" One of them said, "We were wondering when you were going to come!"

"Is the fox there with you again?"

"Yes, he is!" Nick called out "Thanks for remembering of me, guys!"

"You are in for the movie night again? Would you mind not leaving it too loud this time? Last night it was hard to sleep with the noise of the tv on your side."

"Okay, we'll keep it down!" Judy said, as she picked her laptop, turned both it and the tv on, and plugged both machines together.

"So, what options do we have tonight?" Nick asked, and Judy smiled at him.

"Well, we have Lady Herd, Fast and The Furry, the Star Trunk movies, Rocky Bearboa, and the Jurassic Pork movies."

Nick thought about the options for a while. "Yeah, I'm in for some action. Fast cars and some nice ladies sounds good, so let's go for Fast and Furry."

"Which one?" Judy asked as she finished preparing the movie.

"The last one sounds nice. I haven't watched it yet."

"Good." She said, and walked to the fridge s the tv was ready, the image of CatFlix page showing in it, with the movie just waiting to be played. She walked to the fridge, surely to grab their grub.

"So, we are having re-heated pizza and some old soda, like last time?" Nick asked, getting himself comfy as he took an advantageous position to look at the screen of the television.

"Actually, we have some roasted chicken and carrot and broccoli salad, with some nice blueberry pie for dessert."

Nick's ears perked, as he turned to look at the bunny. "Wait, seriously?"

Judy was looking at him as she removed a plate with a plastic-wrapped chicken and a bowl from the fridge. "Yep, both straight from a nearby grocery store, bought yesterday." She added to him. "And the blueberry pie was courtesy of my parents back from BunnyBurrow."

"Wow…" Nick said, his mouth was already watering. "This surely sounds nice."

"Well, I wanted this night to be a good one." Judy said, unwrapping the chicken and placing it in the microwave. "Afterall, today we celebrate exactly one year since you have joined the ZPD. It is a special night." She smiled warmly at him, and Nick smiled back.

"Ms. Hopps, I really feel touched that you remembered." Nick said, and Judy smiled at him.

"Mr. Wilde, what kind of friend would I be if I forgotten?"

"She has been about it for a few days!" A voice on the other side of the wall said. "She was on the phone a lot of times, insisting to have the blueberry pie today!"

Judy groaned as her ears fell back, and Nick couldn't help but snicker a bit. As funny as it was, he truly did felt touched that Judy had remembered, and that she had actually planned something special to celebrate.

Good movie with a good friend, with chicken and blueberry pie?

Nick already knew that it was going to be a good night.

* * *

The movie was good, with a lot of fast-paced action, some romance, a good dosage of comedy, and a very nice ending. All of that accompanied by some very nice food that had been provided by the bunny host.

The night had been nice, and the fox and bunny both could agree with that, as they shared the big chair, sitting so close to each other that they were nearly snuggling to each other. As they saw the ending credits rolling in.

"Best. Movie. Ever." Nick said as he finished his blueberry pie, slouching in the chair as he felt full and satisfied after the awesome night.

"Yeah, it was a good movie." Judy admitted. "I particularly liked when they made the great chase with the switching of cars in the end." She admitted, "It was great."

"Totally!" Nick agreed, "And when they dropped with their cars from the airplane? Wow!" He said, sounding really excited for that. "I wonder if we could pull something like that in real life."

"Nick, why would we need to jump with cars out of a plane?" Judy asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe some special mission?" Nick offered, smiling at her, and Judy could only chuckle at this.

"Hey, can you two tune down your talking?" A voice said from the other side of the wall. "We are kind of trying to watch our tv in here!"

"You two still up?" Judy asked, "It is… a quarter to midnight." Judy said, and the answer came again.

"Yeah, Pronk wanted to stay up to see the Pred-Pride Show! Even though he just complained today that he woke up late and was late for work!"

"Oh, come on! Hyena Gomez and Catty Perry both are going to perform! You know I am a huge fan of them!"

"How late is it going to end, anyway?" Bucky asked, and the two friends shared a look.

"Oh, yeah." Nick said, "It is this week, right?"

The Pred-Pride Show was an event that was made a part of the National Predator Pride Week of this year. It was a great show that was going to happen with many artists, taking place on the city of Fangtropolis, a coastal city around 100 miles from Zootopia, nearly as big as it, but not as famous, and with a ratio of a predator-prey population of 8 to 4. Quite appropriate that it was chosen to the Pred-Pride Show.

"I heard it is going to be quite special this year." Nick said, looking thoughtful. He then said to the wall. "Hey, think that they will have Lady Baa Baa performing?"

"Maybe! I'm not sure! I heard that Gazelle is also going to perform!" one of the neighbors said, and Nick looked at the bunny.

"You want to watch it?" Judy asked him. "I mean, it is quite late."

"Well, it is already near midnight, right?" Nick said, "And, you said yourself that this is a special night, right? We don't have work tomorrow, so I guess we can allow ourselves to have a little late night music appreciation, can't we? Besides, it is a good opportunity to give our own support to the National Predator Pride, ain't I right?"

The smug look on Nick's face was enough to make Judy roll her eyes. Still, she could not help but agree with some of what he said. Judy knew that some of her favorite artists were on this show. They truly had a day off tomorrow, so there would be not really a problem if they stayed up till late seeing tv and slept until late in the morning.

Taking the remote, Judy switched the television back to the cable, and soon, they were watching a live feed from a place that was showing the preparations for a great show.

* * *

"…And this is proving to be quite a very promising show." Said a wolf reporter as he was wearing black clothing as he stood in front of the camera mammal who was recording him on his live feds. "As you can see behind me, the last preparations for the show are just being made, as the public waits anxiously for the opening of the fifth Pred-Pride Show." He gestured behind himself, where it was possible to see a great crowd of mammals reunited in front of a great stage."

"Among the artists performing in this event are Justin Beaver, Ed Sheepan, and the famous singer Gazelle. For a better view of the event, we are now passing to Henry Dogbert and the rest of our helicopter crew. Henry, do you hear me?"

* * *

Up in the air, in a helicopter of Channel 8, was a team formed by a German Shepherd reporter, an antelope camera mammal, and a puma pilot, they were getting ready to get things on air.

The antelope pointed the camera at the German Shepherd, Henry Dogbert, the reporter. As the dog started to talk.

"Yes, Frank. I can hear you clearly." Dogbert said to the camera as the antelope focused on him. "We are here in the helicopter, and from here we have a very good view of the show."

The antelope maneuvered the camera, so it was now pointed at the place where the show was going to happen. The stage was huge, enough for a group of elephants to dance in it with no problems, and the stands were already filled with a lot of mammals who were in there to see the show.

"The show will be starting within minutes, and as we can see, a great number of mammals have already arrived." Dogbert narrated as his camera mammal continued to capture the images of the crowd. "Some of the securities have accounted already over sixty thousand guests in the audience, maybe the bigger one yet compared to the previous Pred-Pride Shows."

The antelope moved the camera as to pick a better angle of the audience, allowing to see just how massive it was.

"We see a lot of mammals down there. Most of them are predators, inhabitants of the city of Fangtropolis, with around 10 million inhabitants, being around 87% of the predators of varied species. Now, how many of the members of the audience are citizens of Fangtropolis, and how many are mammals who traveled all the way here to watch the show." Dogbert continued to narrate, as he looked down at the gaggle of mammals of all kinds down there, admired at how many mammals had been in there already. "Yes, we can surely say that this edition of the Pred-Pride Show is going to be the biggest yet."

* * *

"Oww, that sounds so great!" Judy said as she looked at how many mammals were gathered in there through the television. If the number of mammals that went to watch were of any indication on how good an event was, then this was surely going to be great, as it gathered thousands of mammals to watch it.

"I bet it is great. I wish we could be in there."

"Oh, yeah." Nick said as he popped open another can of soda. "Being up in the middle of the night, among a crowd of mammals way bigger than us that would be dancing and walking around, nearly stomping on us, while they would be throwing their trash around for some of it fall on us. Sure, Carrots, it sounds great."

"Oh, come on Nick. It would be nice. It would be like the Concert on the Animalia Arena on the week that you graduated. You loved that show, didn't you?" Judy said as she remembered how cool it was being in that show, and how Nick himself seemed to really enjoy the show if the smile on his face was any indication. But again, Nick had that smile on most of the time.

"Yeah, I did like that." Nick said, "But I still don't quite like crowds, especially when they are moving too much. I remember how I had to watch my tail so no one would step on it back in that concert."

"I agree with the fox!" A voice came from the other side of the wall. "It looks that there are so many mammals in there that it must be hard to move! I would never be comfortable in there!"

"Because you are way too expansive!" the other voice said, "Seriously, we can hardly sit too close together!"

"Oh, don't be dramatic! Besides, we sleep on the same bed! I never quite heard you complain!"

Judy rolled her eyes, and Nick chuckled. That was one of the times when he wished to pull out his cellphone and put it to record what he was hearing. It was the "Bucky and Pronk's Show"! On a wall very near you!

But instead, he and Judy just continued to focus on the television, as they wanted to see the show.

* * *

_"So, Henry, we really are looking forward to a great show tonight, right?"_ The wolf reporter, Frank Howlen, said through the radio to his fellow in the sky, now that they both were off the air and just talking between each other, and the German shepherd was happy to answer.

"I would say we are, Frank." He said, and the camera mammal continued to look at the crowd below, and Henry himself looked down at the show going on bellow as he was amazed that there were so many mammals down there, and there were still others coming. "There are still some mammals coming and joining the crowd. We can see cars coming from the highways, and some mammals are coming on foot. It seems that everyone has decided to come to see what is going on."

_"Well, this is no surprise, considering how many celebrities are taking part on this event. I feel lucky that I am here myself, for I can see some of my own personal celebrities, I hope I can see them performing."_ Frank admitted in the radio, and he even added, " _I'm actually quite envious of you, Henry. You are u there in the high, and you can see all from an amazing angle."_

"Yeah, I know." Henry said, wanting to laugh with his friend. "Well, I'll make sure to capture some amazing shots up here so I can show it to you."

Someone cleared their throat nearby, and Henry Dogbert looked to see the antelope camera mammal looking at him.

"I mean… _we_ will capture some nice images." He added, and the antelope went back to recording.

Henry looked over as something called his attention. It seemed… like some kind of light in the city, and it was rising from the ground and floating in the air. It was shining in a brilliant and otherworldly golden light.

As Henry took sight of it, his camera mammal also noticed it by looking at the dog and following his gaze.

_"Henry? Is it something wrong?"_ Frank asked through the radio, and Henry didn't answered right away, as he looked at this mysterious thing.

Whatever it was, was glowing brighter by the second. By the place it was, it was a little far from the show, closer to the center of the city. Maybe somewhere in the central part of the city, was it some kind of aircraft? Maybe another helicopter? But why was it glowing so much?

_"Henry?"_ Frank asked again, and this time the dog answered.

"Frank, I'm seeing something from here. It is around six or seven miles from here, near the center of Fangtropolis, and it is rising in the air and glowing."

_"What? Some kind of craft?"_

"I'm not sure…" Henry said as he squinted to try to look at it better. It was still rising in the air, and it looked as if the shine was getting more intense.

"What could it be?" The dog said to himself, and he felt the impulse to go in there. Henry Dogbert was a mammal that had grown up and studied to one day become a reporter, and he had pursued this for a while.

He got himself a job in channel 8, an important news channel, and in there, he got a job as a reporter.

He was a member of the team that was in there to cover the Pred-Pride Show. It was a big thing. Still, as a reporter, he had been taught to pursue a good story if he was ever able to sniff one. Some even said that he had some kind of nose to smell good stories, and right now, he felt like he could find an interesting story regarding the source of that shine.

_"Henry? You still there, buddy?"_ Frank called him, and Henry took a few seconds to answer to the wolf.

"Frank, do you mind covering the show from the ground for a while?"

_"I guess I wouldn't… Why?"_

"I want to take a look at that." Henry said, making the antelope look at him, "It could be something…"

_"Something… like what?"_

"I don't know… I just want to go take a look at that."

_"Shouldn't we be focusing on the show? They kind of were very keen on it when they gave us the assignment."_

"I'll just be out for a few minutes, I'll be back soon." Henry ensured him, and he added, "I just really want to go see what is that… If it is nothing then I'll come back right away."

There was a silence between them, and after a while, Frank said:

_"The boss probably going to cut off my tail for this… Okay, you can go. I'll cover you up."_

"Thanks, dude." Henry said, "I'm going to pay you a nice crocodile steak when this is over."

_"You already own me a lot of steaks for the things I've done for you."_ Frank said, _"Just try not to get in trouble this time."_

"Okay, thanks." Henry said as he finished talking with his friend, and he turned his attention to the antelope, who was staring at him. "Oh, come on, we are reporters, aren't we?" He asked, giving the mammal a light punch in the shoulder, and the antelope still looked unsure.

"Hey, dude!" Henry said, talking to the pilot through his radio, the sound of the blades of the helicopter making it hard to talk normally. "Do you see that glowing thing over there?" He said, gesturing to the glowing thing that was still rising at a slow pace in the air. Take us there, okay?"

The pilot nodded, and soon, the helicopter was flying in direction to that.

Henry was a reporter, after all, and if there was a chance that there would be a story, he was going after it. Like any good reporter would.

Little did he knew that this would turn out to be a story that he would rather never have found…


	3. The Darkest Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tragedy strikes.

The National Predator Pride Week was an important event. It was a way of celebrating differences by giving attention to all of the predators out there, big and small. To let them know that they were an important part of society and that they would always have a place in the world.

It was a time of the year when there were all kinds of events prepared, most of it to generate inclusion and to raise the morale of the predators, as well as to encourage the acceptance by the much more numerous prey population.

Among the most popular events of this week, was the Pred-Pride Show. An initiative that reunited artists of all kinds, species, and orders to perform. It was an event that showed that somethings, like the taste for music, would transcend the barrier of species, and to encourage for predator and prey to gather side by side so they could see their favorite artists, and realize that, deep down, they had a lot in common.

Of course, there were some among the population that did not agree with the idea of inclusion and acceptance. They saw it as something that should not happen, and they wanted to fight it with all that they had. Some examples were more known than others. In recent times, the most famous of them had become the one known as "The Night Howler Conspiracy", an attempt to shatter the relationships between predator and prey by using fear and striking in the city of Zootopia, the symbol of coexistence and peace between species.

Luckily, this nasty plot was brought down by two heroes, a prey and a predator, who worked together to put the responsible behind bars and return the peace to the city. Since then, the mammals were working hard to help continue the building of the acceptance and the understanding between the many mammals of the world, and that was why the following two Pred-Pride Shows were bigger than the previous ones.

This one, said to be the biggest yet, was made exactly in the city of Fangtropolis. A city that had a great population of predators within it, exactly to encourage others to give attention to this city, that showed, just like Zootopia, that it was possible for predator and prey to live together and in peace as friends.

That was why so much had been invested in this year's show.

Frank looked over as he could notice that the crowd was waiting anxiously for the show to begin. The wolf himself was quite anxious for it, as it was normal to be when something really great is about to happen.

A buzzing on his ear broke him out of his daydream, and he could hear a familiar, feminine voice on his head.

" _Frank? Do you copy?_ "

"Oh, Gilda!" Frank said, speaking on his mic as he held the earpiece in his ear, to better hear the voice of his supervisor.

Gilda Pelton was a female bear who was in charge of the news crew that had been assigned for this mission. She was the kind of mammal of who you would not wish to get on the bad side, as she could be quite ferocious and fearsome when things were hard. She knew when to speak up and when to raise her voice to impose respect and to let others knew who was in charge, making her the perfect mammal to direct crews. Of course, she was not antisocial, by any means, she was actually the best person you could hope to meet, as long as she was not in a bad mood, and you did nothing to piss her off. Everyone of the crew respected her, and they also had a decent amount of fear of her.

" _Frank, this show is crazy! It hasn't even started yet and camera four has gotten two antelopes trying to climb on the stage!"_ Gilda spoke, and Frank could only smile at this.

"Yeah, this show is going to be huge." He admitted as he looked at the crowd, his own camera mammal, a zebra girl, was sitting next to him as she took a few sips of some mango juice. She looked rather bored as she looked around.

" _Yeah, actually, we are needing a better angle from the crowd, that is why I'm calling you."_ Gilda said to him through his earpiece.

"Oh, so you are hoping that we can get a better angle from our camera?" Frank said, turning to the zebra, who looked back at him. "Well, it might be a little hard, but I'm sure we could capture some good images. Still, it could be better to use some of the other cameras, right? I mean, they are right above the crowd in many places?"

" _Yeah, no._ " Gilda said to him before she continued. " _I was thinking of images from the helicopter. I have been trying to contact Henry, but he is not answering. Do you think you can contact him from your end?_ "

This made Frank stop, as the smile vanished from his muzzle.

He did not answer right away, and this caught the attention of the bear on the other end of the radio.

" _Frank?"_

"O-oh… You… you are looking for Henry?" Frank said, his voice stammering a bit, as a forced smile appeared in his muzzle. The zebra looked at him, and she could not help but chuckle a bit at the face the wolf was making.

" _Frank…"_ Gilda's voice came once more, this time in a more serious tone.

When Frank heard that tone, he knew the situation was serious, and he suddenly saw himself thorn between two basic instincts: one side, his instinct of loyalty, that told him to cover up for his friend; on the other end, was his own sense of self-preservation, that was screaming at him, for everything holy, not to try and lie to Gilda.

" _Frank..."_ Gilda's voice came once more _"Where. Is. Henry?"_

* * *

The helicopter moved through the air as they got closer and closer to the glowing thing.

It was already a few hundred meters in the air, nearly as tall as the buildings close, and it continued to glow as it got higher and higher. As they got close, they could notice that it was somewhat spherical, unlike any kind of aircraft that any of them knew. Not only round, the thing was nearly perfectly spherical, and the whole form glowed almost as if it was mini sun.

"What is that thing?" The antelope camera mammal asked as they moved closer. Henry really wished he could answer that, but he had no idea as for what the object was. However, he felt that it gave him a certain feeling, now that they were close. A feeling of being small and meaningless, as if that thing was much bigger than himself, not only in size but in importance. That, and also the feeling that he somehow wanted the thing for himself…

They got closer to the orb. Suddenly, the whole helicopter jolted. Henry and the antelope quickly grabbed for something so they wouldn't fall, and the pilot had to make a little effort to get the helicopter back at normal.

"Hey! What was that, dude?" Henry asked annoyed, "Are you piloting this thing right?"

"It wasn't me!" The cougar said as he checked on the equipment. "Something went wrong with the equipment for a moment, but it is normal now."

"Okay," Henry said, as he looked back at the thing, which was still rising in the sky. "Can you get us closer?"

"Not without knowing what that thing is." The cougar said firmly. It was obvious that he would not be taking any chances. He might not be the most experienced pilot around, but he knew well enough not to get too close to something airborne and unidentified.

Henry looked at the orb, and he was trying his best to try to figure out what it was.

The cougar pilot suddenly took a hand to his ear, as his radio buzzed, and someone talked on his ear. The cougar turned to the two in the back and said:

"Frank is on the radio!" The two looked at him. "He says for you to turn your earpiece back on, Gilda wants to talk to you!"

Henry groaned. That was the kind of thing that he wanted to avoid, and the exact reason why he had turned it off, so he could later use the excuse that there was a flaw in the equipment that prevented communication. He even made his camera mammal turn his own off, but he forgot that the pilot also had one.

Sighing in defeat, he turned his earpiece once more back on, and soon, he was saying:

"Hey, Gilda! Heard you wanted to talk to me."

" _I'm going to cut off your tail, slow-roast it and them feed it to you._ "

She was not yelling. This was a very bad sign.

"So… how things going?" He said, with a smile on his face, trying to keep his cool, and the bear on the other side said:

" _Your job was just to hover over the crowd and gives us some images from above. Only that. Only THAT!"_ Gilda snarled from the other side, and Henry actually flinched at this. " _But of course! You had to 'pull a Henry' in such an important event like that!"_

Henry kind of disliked that expression that they had invented especially based on him back at work. Still, he had to defend himself from this tirade while he was still allowed to talk.

"It was for a good cause!" He said in his defense. "I saw something-"

" _I gave you a job!"_ Gilda shot back, cutting the German shepherd in the middle of his explanation. " _Could you, at least once, do as you are told!?"_

"It looked like a good story!" Henry said, "I'm in the chopper, near the center, and there is a huge thing happening!" He said, as he looked at the thing. "Like, REALLY huge! Around sixty feet diameter!"

" _What in the world are you talking about!?_ "

Henry looked at the camera mammal, as the antelope continued to look at the glowing sphere. Henry tapped him in the shoulder, calling his attention. He gestured to the thing as he mouthed "get on the camera". The antelope obeyed, and he was getting the camera ready, while Henry continued to talk to Gilda.

"We are sending some images now. Take a look for yourself!"

As he said that, the antelope had the camera ready and was getting the glowing sphere on the camera. There was a silence as the images were captured and transmitted back to the crew, and then, Gilda's voice came once more.

" _What the heck… What is that thing?"_

"Beats me," Henry said, as he continued to look at it. "I noticed something glowing and I decided to investigate. We are kind of close to it, and we are still not sure of what it is, but it is moving up, and id doesn't looks like any kind of craft I've seen."

" _… could… could it be related to the Show?_ "

"I don't know." Henry said, "I don't really think it has to do with the show, but it does looks like a story. Don't you think?"

There was a silence, and the thing continued to rise in the air as if it was a giant, glowing balloon. Henry said once more:

"I want to cover it."

" _What?... Wait, you mean right now!?"_ Gilda's voice said, and the dog agreed.

"Yeah! I mean, why not?"

" _Because you are supposed to be covering the show! We all are supposed to be covering the show! This is what this is all about! This is why they sent us here!"_

"What, so I ignore this!?" Henry said in outrage, "The mysterious glowing sphere thing that is floating in the middle of one of the most famous cities of the country? Something that could be part of a very important story and that we just stumbled upon before even the local news? This is not what reporters do, and you know it, Gilda! Our job is to go after the news and let others know about them, and what better time than now, when we are live on a national scale?"

There was a silence following his words, as Gilda seemed to be considering what he was saying. After a few moments, came her voice once more through the radio:

" _If we_ do _transmit this thing in national scale, and it turns out to be nothing…_ "

"I'll take full responsibility." Henry said with no hesitation, "I'll even cut my own tail off so you can give it to the boss."

Another silence, and after a while, a sigh of resignation from the other side of the radio.

" _You will be on air in sixty seconds. Be ready._ "

* * *

"Man, when the show is going to start?" Pronk asked loudly, as he was sitting in front of the TV in a chair, with a can on his hand and a bowl of popcorn on the other.

"Maybe it will start when it starts!" Bucky replied, as he was laying on the bed, with a book on his hooves, which he was trying to read.

"Why these things are always so late!?" Pronk complained.

"Because all of the artists are either nocturnal or insomniac!" Bucky said, "Or maybe because they know that the people who like to watch it are guys who enjoy being awake until late as if they had nothing important to do in the mornings!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, _you_ shut up!"

"Hey, are you two gonna be at this all night?" Judy's voice came from the other side of the wall. "It will be hard to listen to the music if you do!"

"Sorry! We will tune it down!" Bucky said, "See, you are bothering the neighbors!"

"You were yelling too! So stop trying to push it all on me!"

Bucky was opening his mouth, ready to give a reply, when the TV said:

" _Here is Frank Howlen from the Pred-Pride Show, with breaking news from our helicopter crew!_ "

The two were distracted from their squabbling as they looked at the TV, looking at the wolf reporter who was looking back at the camera.

" _Just moments ago, our aircrew noticed something unusual form above, and they went to investigate. They are in the local right now, and we will pass to them at this very moment. Henry, it is with you!"_

* * *

Henry was composed as the camera was pointed at him, and as soon as he knew that he had his cue, he started to talk:

"Thanks, Frank. Yes, we were up here covering the event when something called our attention, and we decided to investigate…" The antelope glared at him, the dog ignored and he continued to narrate "Well, by looking over, you can see what we are seeing and, I gotta say, it is quite a sight…"

As he spoke, the antelope turned the camera and focused it into the object. It was still raising in the air, and it continued to shine as bright as before.

"As you can see, the object is rather spherical, with sixty, maybe seventy feet in diameter." Henry said as the helicopter flew around the object, as it continued to ascend. "It is floating around seven hundred feet above ground level, in the center of Fangtropolis, and it is still raising in the air."

"Now, we are still not sure of what this object is, but it is quite a sight." Henry said, "By the way that it is rising in the air, and by the shape, we could even say it could be some kind of balloon, or similar object, but it is too soon to…"

Henry was stopped in mid-thought, as suddenly, the air started to vibrate around them. Henry blinked as he could feel that vibration, bigger than the one of the helicopter's blades, passing through his chest and through his body. He took a few moments to register this feeling before he realized that it was coming from the sphere.

"Wait, I… I think that something is happening with the object…" Henry said as the sphere was now glowing brighter. Nearly twice as bright as it was before, so much that now it was kind of painful to look directly at it, and it seemed as if it was… pulsing, or more accurately beating somehow…

Suddenly, the helicopter jolted, and this time the puma had to struggle to recover control over it.

" _Henry? Henry!"_ Frank's voice came from the radio, as the helicopter recovered control, and Henry and the camera mammal both recovered enough to recompose themselves.

"I'm fine! I'm fine." Henry said as he looked up at the thing, as the helicopter was forced to move down, and now they were circling beneath the glowing sphere. "Yes, there is definitely something happening!"

The sphere of light was pulsing now, and it was possible not just to see but to feel it. A sound, subtle but constant, was in there as if the hum of an engine or a beating of a heart.

Henry could notice it in the place where he was, and he was not the only one.

On the nearby buildings, and on the ground bellow, other mammals could notice the presence of the glowing thing. Mammals were looking through the windows of their homes at the glowing thing or coming out to look, some of them were even snapped out of their sleep by that thing.

Matter of fact, that thing was now shining so bright that even the people from the show, at eight miles away, took knowledge of its existence, as they turned their heads to look at the glowing thing in the sky, and the way that it pulsed.

However, who was the closest was still Henry and his team, as they were so close that they could feel the pulsing of the great thing on their bones, as the hum seemed to be getting stronger. Almost like an engine charging and slowly starting to work.

"There is… some kind of sound coming from the sphere." Henry said as the antelope continued to have the thing in focus, and the dog was now trying to find the best possible words to describe what was happening, even though it was hard.

"As you can see, it seems like the sphere is… charging, or something…" Henry said, as he shielded his eyes with his arm and looked way. "As if it was getting ready to…" He was about to say but trailed as something in the ground caught his attention. It looked like some sort of red light.

"What the..?"

Henry looked at that red glow, which in seconds started to grow brighter as if it was a small star. Henry barely had time to manifest surprise, when the red glow shot up from the ground and rose in the air like a rocket. It passed by the chopper as it went up, its movement rocking the aircraft slightly.

Henry was able to look up in time to see the red dot fly straight to the sphere.

"Something… something just passed by us and…" Henry tried to form words, but he didn't have time, for, at that moment, all hell broke loose.

A loud sound came from the sphere, different from anything that Henry had heard, but the closest thing that came into mind was a scream of pain. A flash of red light mixed with the golden of the sphere. The two glows mixed, forming a strong, intense orange coloration, and then, in a second, it dimmed. No not just dimmed though like it was being choked out. Upon closer inspection, with the sphere, Henry could see where the red light had impacted with the sphere because it was where a black spot had appeared on the once flawless surface. In fact, if Henry strained his eyes he could see that the black color was spreading over the surface of the Sphere and he could hear the scream like sound grow louder. In a blink of an eye the black spread all over the orb, like it was alive and seeking to destroy the golden light. Once the last bit of light was extinguished the screaming sounds stopped completely, choke off like the owner of the scream has died. Now in front of the helicopter stood a black sphere looking like a dark sun. Henry was about to comment on the change of event but he never did because the sphere itself exploded.

Literally exploded.

The giant sphere seemed to rupture itself, as the red light projected outwards to all directions. The explosion was so strong that the shockwave caused the windows of nearby buildings to shatter, causing the glass to rain down on the streets. Some buildings actually shook. Comets of red light projected out of the explosion, flying across the sky, and some of them actually hit the buildings. Red bolts of lightning came from the sphere as it was destroyed, and they hit the clouds, right before the force of the blast blew the clouds themselves away.

The chopper was caught by the strength of the explosion, and suddenly, it was spinning in the air, as the pilot tried to recover control over the craft.

* * *

Judy gasped as the explosion took care of the image, right before the image went off the air, static taking its place.

"Oh, my gosh! What happened!?" The bunny cried out, while she and Nick both stood on the edge of the chair, both of them unable to take their eyes off the screen. On the other side of the wall, Bucky and Pronk were not much better.

"What the heck was that!?" Pronk yelled.

"How am I suppose to know!?" Bucky shot back, as they both had their eyes glued into the screen.

* * *

The explosion was so intense that many of the mammals who were in the street could feel it, and it was what was needed for many of them to start to run and scream.

Eight miles away, at the Show, many mammals were looking at the place where the orb exploded. They were not close enough to be on panic for the thing exploding, but they were still able to feel the explosion, and this was enough for many of them to be worried.

Frank, in particular, was worried once he saw that the thing had exploded when the chopper was close to it, and now he was unable to see it.

"By Fenrir's fangs!" Frank cried out. "Henry!" He reached out for his earpiece and was trying to contact his friend. "Henry!"

" _What in the entire Hell was that!?"_ Gilda's voice came through the earpiece.

"It exploded!" Frank cried out back at her. "The thing just… it just exploded!"

" _What about Henry?"_

"I don't know!"

Frank felt frantic, and he continued to try to contact him. "Frank? Frank, are you there!? Do you copy!?"

" _Henry! Henry!? Do you hear us!? Henry!?"_ Gilda called, as she too was trying to contact the German shepherd.

"Henry?"

Silence.

Only silence.

"HENRY!"

Suddenly, a buzz, and a familiar voice came through the radio.

" _I-I'm here! I'm here! W-we are okay! I think…"_

Frank let out a sigh as a wave of relief had washed over him. Henry was fine.

* * *

For a moment in there, Henry actually thought that the helicopter was going to fall from the sky and crash on the ground, but the cougar who was piloting was able to recover control over the craft, and now they were hovering, as the orange glow of the explosion continued to shine down on them.

"I expect a raise after this!" The cougar screamed as he made his best to remain calm and have the craft under control.

"Me too!" The antelope screamed, holding to the camera as if it was the only thing that had kept him from crashing in the ground.

" _Henry! Henry, you idiot!"_ Frank's voice came through the radio. " _I thought that this time you had actually got yourself killed!_ "

"Hah! As if!" Henry said confidently, trying to sound brave, but he felt like he had almost wet his pants. "It is not yet that you guys got rid of me!"

_"Guys, we are all happy that Henry is okay, but we are still live! Henry, tell us what happened! Look at the camera and tell us what happened!_ " Gilda said in a no-nonsense tone.

"O-oh! Right!" Henry said as he recomposed himself, and he looked at the antelope, who was still shaking. "Come on, dude, it is still a story!" Henry said, and the antelope glared at him. "I'll compensate you somehow, I promise, but now we gotta tell mammals what is going on!"

The antelope looked at him for a few moments, still shaken, the antelope was now pointing the camera back at Henry.

"So… the glowing sphere that we were watching has exploded." Henry said as the camera was focusing on him. "It seems that, something came from the ground and hit it, and it caused some short of explosion." The dog explained as he gestured. "As you can see, the explosion is still… well, it is still over us, as the flames seem to be… wait, something else is happening…"

The antelope looked ready to faint as he turned the camera back to the explosion. The red glow was still intense, projecting outwards like a cloud of flames and smoke, but something was happening to the fire. It looked as it was being sucked back in as if the explosion was now sucking its contents back.

It took only around ten seconds, and soon, the red light died down as it was sucked into the center.

Said center, was a ball of pure blackness, so black that the night sky looked bluish against it. Henry looked at it, and he was able to describe what he was saying.

"Now we are seeing… a new ball… wait… no, it seems like… some kind of black hole." Henry said, "As strange as it sounds, it is like someone has… well, I don't know how to describe, it is like the explosion has punched a hole in the air." Henry said, and as he spoke, suddenly, a gush of wind came outwards from that hole, as if it was a breeze coming out of it into the open air.

Henry was unable to describe after that, for at that moment, a feeling crept on his chest. The fur on his back and on his tail all stood on end. His instincts told him to turn around and run as fast as he could and not look back.

His instincts told him to escape from that place. Every instinct that he had was telling him to turn tail and run. As if his very soul knew:

Something horrible was about to happen.

And it did.

Something was leaking from the hole.

At first, it was trickling, but the flow increased as more and more leaked. Until it was a waterfall.

Henry and the antelope could only look as the cascade of black muck leaked out of the hole and in direction to the ground.

It connected with the ground, and the muck started to pool and to spread as it continued to come from the hole.

"By my ancestor's fangs… Guys, do you see this?" Henry said as he looked down. "There is… some kind of black mud leaking from the hole! What in the world is that!?"

Down below, some of the mammals who had come out to see what was going on looked as the black slime came, nearly in waves, as it leaked across the streets and soon it was reaching the mammals. The mammals immediately wanted to move away from it, but some of them were not agile enough to avoid the thing.

It came around them, touching their ankles and tails.

And immediately setting them alight in red flames as they ignited with the mere contact.

The mammals who saw it immediately started to run, screaming as they tried to get away from the mud. However, the mud was coming in waves, and it was soon proving to be faster than some of the mammals, who were hit by the mud, and immediately ignited into flames, screaming as they were swallowed by the flames, disappearing from sight.

Above, the helicopter was flying above the streets, and they were able to capture images of what was going one down there. Images of the mammals running from the mud, and being set alight and swallowed by it as soon as it touched them, were captured by the camera, as the antelope has wide eyes as he looked at that, and Henry was not better.

"Oh God! OH GOD!" Henry nearly screamed as he saw that happening down there. "T-the mud is… it is flowing across the streets and… the mammals! Oh, god!" Henry cried out as he saw a couple of elephants just be set in flames and flail about as the mud had reached them. They flailed a while, before falling in the ground and being swallowed by the wave of black mud.

Mammals continued to run. A coyote was running, but she tripped and fell to the ground. The other mammals passed desperate by her as she tried to get up. She looked at the passing mammals, but none of them stopped to give her a helping paw. She barely saw the mud approaching, until she looked back with horror, just in time to see the mud raise like a wave and envelop her like a dark, thick blanket.

The mud continued to slide forwards into the city, catching not only the mammals but what else was in it's path. Trees would start to burn into red flames as soon as the mud touched them. Mailboxes and streetlights would start to burn and to melt under the touch of the mud. Even vehicles were affected, as the cars started to melt under the effect of the mud, but they were resilient enough not to be immediately destroyed by it, as a result, the cars were floating into the mud just like they would over water during a flood. In some of the said cars, there were even mammals, who had climbed on them in a desperate attempt to be safe from the mud that they were unable to outrun. However, these attempts were useless, as the cars would either sink into the mud or be turned around and tumble over due to the flow, causing the mammals to invariably fall victims of the same fate as the others.

The mud moved forward, like a cloud of devouring locusts, destroying what was on its path. Mammals would start burning nearly immediately after being touched by it. The red flames would involve their bodies and burn through their clothing and fur easily, and soon it would reach the flesh beneath it, and start to burn away nearly immediately. Those who would not be swallowed by the mud right after catching on fire would be able to run a few dozen feet while they screamed before they would fall to the ground and desperately claw their own bodies in a feeble attempt to put the fire out, but it was useless. These flames were too hot, and they seemed not to go out easily. Besides, any stop that they made to try and put the flames out would only cause them to be caught by the tide of black mud, which would not stop moving, and would only get faster and faster, as more of it poured from the hole in the air.

It was still spreading. And spreading. It didn't looked like it would stop anytime soon.

It was truly horrible.

And it was not over yet.

The mud continued to spill out of the hole, as it formed a tide in the streets, filling everything that was on its path, destroying anything unlucky enough to be on its way. Be it mammals, trees, things on the streets. Even the buildings themselves weren't safe, as the mud was able to eat away through the rock and the metal, chipping and melting pieces of the constructions as it passed by them, even though they were still strong enough to stand where they were as it swept across them.

All the while, the helicopter was still in the air, capturing images of what was going down for everyone to see. The one's inside were only able to look helplessly at the surreal scene of destruction going on beneath them.

Henry was speechless as he looked at the horror going on down there. Still, something stirred to continue to talk. Something stirred him to take the microphone near his muzzle and to continue to speak.

"T-this is Henry Dogbert, on the center of the destruction!" He was able to speak, his voice sounding disembodied to his own ears as he saw the mud continue to take the city of Fangtropolis. "The mud… is still spreading! It is coming in tides and destroying everything on its path! It is so horrible! It is spreading and will take the city! It… It will reach the Show! If you are in the show, you gotta run, before it gets in there! You gotta run now! Everyone in Fangtropolis who can hear this! You got to run! Run now! Before its too late!"

As Henry finished these words, a building nearby shook. The mud had eaten away at its foundations, making it weak. Soon, the whole thing was crumbling down, in a rain of rubble that fell on other constructions, and splashed into the mud as they ignited in red as soon as they touched it.

It was a matter of time until other buildings would follow, as the mud would eat their foundations until they crumbled like houses of cards.

As the mud continued to flow, it bubbled and slushed over itself as it flowed. The surface moved and twisted with the rhythm of the flow. However, the flowing was more than just that, as the surface took shapes, the mud gathering and twisting as it took shapes, firstly at small mounds, and then as roughish limbs and even faces, as they gurgled and moved.

Soon, the forms made by the mud were getting more and more defined, as the shapes stretched out of the mud, forming arms. The faces stretched out of the mud, forming heads, and these heads opened their mouths, packed with teeth, as they let out screeches and roars, as if of great pain or great fury. All the while the mud continued to flow across the city at an increasing speed, as it moved outwards from the center to the outskirts of the city. Naturally, it was moving in a spread out direction from its epicenter, as a result, it was moving to overtake the whole city, which meant that not even the area where the show was taking place was safe.

* * *

Henry's warning was heard by his team, and even if it wasn't, anyone in the show could notice that something was happening. When the first building collapsed, it was enough for all hell to break loose, as mammals started to run and to scream as they were trying either to run away or to reach their vehicles as fast as they could.

All mammals in there were moving out, both the crowd of fans and the performers of the place. All of them ready to get on stage and sing, the artists found themselves rushing or being rushed as to get away from that place as fast as possible. Among them, the voluptuous Gazelle, who was walking accompanied by her four tigers, as they were aiming to get into a vehicle and rush away from there.

Even the reporters were getting ready to leave.

"Guys! We need to leave, now!" A seven feet tall bear of dark-brown fur and in red clothing screamed from a news van. The rest of the team rushing to save what they could. "Oh, just leave it, is not worth your lives!" Gilda screamed to the guys, and soon, they were giving up and rushing to the van.

"Come on! Come on! No time to lose!" She screamed. "Where the hell are Frank and Jasmine!?"

"There they are!" said a beaver from the crew as Frank and Jasmine, his zebra camera mammal, where both running as fast as they could to the van.

"Guys! Come on! We have to go now!" Gilda screamed, and the two mammals continued to run.

Right after them, came the first wave of the mud, and now, it was even more terrifying, as outstretched arms and deformed faces were coming out of it as it slides forward. These appendages actually stretched, as they moved forward like a chameleon's tongue, grabbing or biting at mammal that was in range.

The ones who were not fast enough to run were either grabbed by a clawed hand or bitten by a demoniac head in the tip of an elongated neck, right before they were pulled back by them, landing right into the mud, which continued to ooze forward.

Frank and Jasmine continued to run as fast as their legs could carry them, and they were almost reaching the van when Jasmine tripped and landed on the ground.

"JASMINE!" Gilda screamed in worry and fright, causing Frank to stop in his tracks and look back, seeing the zebra on the floor, the camera a few feet head of her.

Jasmine was trying to get up, as the mud continued to move their way. At that moment, a deformed face forced in the mud and shot forward in direction to the zebra. She had time to turn her head and look in horror as that thing was coming her way.

She screamed in horror as the outstretched jaws approached her, but they never made contact. Frank had moved forward as used the fallen camera to slam as hard as he could into the head. The impact reduced the camera to broken pieces, but it was enough to make the head turn back and sling back into the incoming mud, merging back into it and vanishing.

Jasmine was panting as she looked in a fearful daze, and was only brought out of it by the voice of Frank, urging her to get up and run, while he held her by the arm and helped her back on her hooved feet.

Soon they were rushing to the van, and Gilda was already waiting for them.

"Come on! Come on, guys! We don't have time! We gotta hurry!" She said as she took Jasmine's hoof, and started to help her into the van. Frank was coming right after, but suddenly, his whole body went stiff and his mouth was open into a mute scream as a gasp escaped from his throat.

Another hand had come from the mud, and it had grabbed his ankle. The contact of the black claw with his bare fur was generating smoke, as the area of contact was glowing red as the mere touch was enough to burn deeply.

"Frank!" Gilda roared her distraught, trying to reach out for the wolf, but it was too late when another hand came and grabbed him by the head, immediately pulling him backward.

"Frank, no!"

The wolf flew in the air as the hands pulling him like slings back to the mud. The poor wolf was already involved in red flames way before he slammed into it, splashing and sinking out of view, nothing more than smoke and the smell of burned fur and flesh left behind.

Gilda was speechless, her mind unable to process what she had just witnessed, and Jasmine was not better, both her hooves covering her mouth, as her eyes were wide in horror. However, they were snapped out of this by the rest of the crew, who remembered them that the mud was still coming their way. Soon the van has its doors slammed shut, and it was speeding up away from the mud, just as it was coming in waves to where the van was just a moment ago.

The van was now speeding across the road, joining other vehicles that were moving away from the mud, leaving behind a stage that was supposed to carry on a show at that night, but which was now being swallowed by a tide of black mud. Everyone was running from there any way they could, most of them through a car or other vehicle, but some were lucky to actually manage to escape from there through the use of the use of the helicopters in the place.

The ones going through wheeled vehicles were speeding the most they could as the mud continued to gain terrain. Some of the vehicles were not fast enough, and they got caught up by the mud, as the vehicle was swallowed by it, melting and catching on fire, dooming the mammals that were inside.

This was not limited only to the place of the show, as the mud was spreading radially from the center to the outside of the city, and all around, the ones who had not been caught by the fire yet were trying to escape the best way they could. Of course, it was difficult, as the mud was coming in tides, and even some of the cars were not fast enough to get away from the mud. Not the mention that many mammals were trying to drive to escape from the mud, and the result of all of these cars trying to get out was that some of them ended up getting in the others' way. That meant that there were crashes, cars skidding to avoid hitting each other, and some were being pushed. The result was pure mayhem in the streets as every mammal was trying to save itself and their families, and the mud only got more time to claim even more victims in this chaos. Matter of fact, the chaos was claiming victims of its own, beating the mud in that aspect.

Smoke was rising from the streets. Screams could be heard through the night air. The stench in the air, the stench of death.

Anyone who was still in the streets of the city could hear it. Be them hidden in the ceiling of a three-store building, on the window of a taller building looking down, or on the helicopter that was still hovering over that scene of destruction.

Channel 8 helicopter just had to move to avoid the debris from yet another building that was collapsing from the mud eating away at its foundations. The cougar pilot did his best to avoid the things from bringing the helicopter down on that destruction, the mere thought of it making him prefer that the helicopter would explode and they all would die before falling into the mud. Meanwhile, the antelope and German shepherd on the helicopter were still looking down on the destruction, capturing images and still transmitting it on a national scale.

"T-there are no words to describe what we are seeing in here!" Henry said as he looked down on what was going on down there. His ears flat against his skull, his expression one of horror as he looked at it. "The mud is taking over Fangtropolis! It seems to be taking the whole city! The mammals… It is a nightmare down there! Is hell!"

As they spoke, the helicopter was flying rather close to the ground, around ten meters, and the mud underneath it started to bubble up as if it was sensing the movement up there. Arms and faces started to form in the mud, and they gathered, intertwining with each other, forming a greater body out of mud, until it formed an arm big enough to grab a car as if it was a toy.

This hand shot forward, stretching to the helicopter, its claws outstretched as if to grab the thing.

The antelope was the first one to notice it, and his eyes widened in horror as he cried out:

"By the horns!"

Henry looked at him, and only then, he noticed the hand shooting in their direction, ready to grab them. His expression one of horror as that arm closed the distance to reach for the helicopter, clawed fingers ready to wrap around the chopper and crush it.

However, this great hand didn't manage to grab the chopper, for, at that moment, a flash of red lightning struck it. The red bolt heated the mud in the span of a second, making it bubble up and explode in a second, resulting into the claw exploding. The shock, combined with the sudden scare of the pilot, granted the chopper to move back from that explosion as globs of black mud flew everywhere. Most of it fell back into the rest of the mud below, but some of it actually landed on the chopper, and actually inside of it.

Some of it landed straight into the camera, as the antelope holding it fell back and scrambled as he tried to resume his footing. When he did recover, he saw the black mud, smoking and eating away at the camera. Screaming out in fear, the antelope threw the camera away as it catches on red flames.

It fell out of the chopper, and the flames enveloped it as it went down, until it landed with a disturbing sound into the river of black mud sloshing beneath.

The pilot was recovering of the scare when a sizzling sound made him look and see that some of the mud had landed on the glass of the chopper, and was eating through it as if it was some kind of acid. Now, the puma had faced a lot in the moments that he had been in there, but that was officially the last straw the pilot could take.

"Okay, screw this! I'm out of here!" He said as he controlled the chopper to make it turn. He didn't care if there was still a "story" in there, or if his bosses would fire him. Heck, he was probably going to quit as soon as he would get to safety. He was taking that chopper out of there, and nothing was changing his mind.

The chopper moved across the air, now moving definitely way from the city and from what was going on down there.

The mud continued to flow, as it was covering all of the streets below, from the center until the outskirts of the city, bubbling and churning as columns of smoke came from the nearby buildings. Some of them were actually on fire, something that the mud had induced. Others of them were ready to collapse, and some did collapse, as the mud had eaten away their foundations.

Not a single mammal was left alive in the streets, as the ones who had dared to get outside were swallowed by the mud, and the ones who had hidden in the buildings were meeting their fate as the buildings would collapse.

The proud city of Fangtropolis was now destroyed. A broken shadow of what it was just minutes ago. All of that done by the mud that now was flowing across its streets, all coming from that hole that had formed into the air. Said hole that continued to spill out the black mud in a waterfall.

However, something started to happen to the hole.

It started to tremble and to get out of focus. As if it was becoming less tangible, less material, less real. The hole started to shrink, and so was the flow of mud that was coming out of it. The waterfall of mud was becoming thinner and thinner, as its source was waning. It reduced in strength, reduced to a trickle of what it was moments ago. The mud was then coming out in spurts, like the water coming out of a hose after the source is dry. Finally, the cascade of mud stopped, as the hole from which it was coming had vanished, not a single trait left behind indicating that it had even existed at all.

As the cascade had stopped, the flow of mud would invariably stop as well. The flow of it across the streets became less intense, slower. The mud was now not moving as much as it was before. The cars that were racing to escape the mud would take a while to notice that the tide of black material had stayed behind and that it was actually stopping.

It took minutes until the mud had completely stopped and settled down. It rested in the streets like a layer of black tar that had covered the whole city, as more buildings collapsed from the effects that the mud had on them. In these events, their fall would cause mud to sprinkle to all sides, but other than that, it seemed that the mud had stopped.

Some of the mammals who had been running from the mud actually stopped as they noticed that it was no longer advancing. Among them, the car that was transporting Gazelle. She was among the lucky ones that had managed to completely escape that horror, along with most of her crew, and also her entrusted dancers. As her car stopped, and she stepped out, she let out a breath that she had been holding, seemingly since the moment that hurry had started, and she rested her hands on her knees to support herself, as she took deep breaths.

The smell of destruction reached her nostrils, and she looked up. From the road on the cliff that her car had stopped, she could see the city. Or what was left of it. It was enough to make her cover her mouth in horror as she stared at the destruction. She felt wetness forming in her eyes, as she backed away from that scene.

She felt a paw landing on her shoulder. Soon, she turned around and buried her face in the chest of whoever it was. It was one of her dancers. She could feel his scent, it was Tyson, he was always the one who was in there to offer her a crying shoulder, and now it was no different. She began to cry on his chest, unable to hold back her tears.

Soon, more vehicles were stopping in the same place, and the drivers and passengers were coming out to breathe, and to look at the destruction the black mud caused.

Horror.

Despair.

Anguish.

Those were the expressions on the faces of every single mammals who looked at that destruction. Gilda just came out of the Channel 8's van that had stopped along with the other vehicles.

The rest of the crew was spilling out, all of them still dizzy for all of the events that had unfolded. Gilda could hear someone sobbing, probably Jasmine. She also could hear someone throwing up, but she could not tell who. She was too busy trying to process all that had happened. To understand what had happened.

Back in the city, the mud, once stopped flowing, could finally start to settle and to dry out. As it did, the mud cracked and broke as it hardened, as pieces of it shattered. These shards broke down even more until they became black dust. Eventually, even this dust itself vanished in the air, as it was carried by the winds and disappeared from sight. Soon, the mud was going to vanish, and no trait of its existence would be left behind. Save for the damages that it had caused to the city, and to the broken spirits of the survivors.

The chopper continued to fly, as the puma was now looking for a safe place to land. From up there, he was able to catch a commotion in a road near a cliff, as many vehicles had stopped in there, and many mammals were out of them. Among the vehicles, the puma could see the van of Channel 8.

Soon, the helicopter was landing in the grass near the road, calling the attention of many, including the news crew. As soon as Henry and the antelope set foot out of the chopper, they were surrounded by members of their crew, who kept asking them if they were fine. Henry felt a bit overwhelmed, especially when Gilda came to him and pulled the German shepherd into a very tight hug.

Gilda was not the kind who gave hugs. So Henry knew that this whole experience had affected her deeply. The fact that she was hugging him strong enough to make him worry about his spine was proof of that.

After the hug was over, Gilda had gone to answer her phone, as someone was calling her back from the office. Probably the boss. Henry was left to walk back to the crew, and he could see just how heavy everything was. His camera mammal was behind the van, emptying his stomach, as he finally was able to take in all that had happened. The puma was looking very edgy, and he seemed ready to run back to the chopper and make it fly until the next city.

The rest of the crew was not much better, as they all looked gloomy, and Henry could not blame them. He was positive himself, but even he could not think of anything to say that could possibly put a good spin on what had just happened. He could not understand what had happened, but he knew that it was something that should not, not in a million years, have ever happened. He just knew it.

The sound of an angry voice broke him out of his trance:

"Are you freaking serious!?" Gilda's voice came, and Henry turned to look at the bear, as she was talking to her phone. "We almost died out there!" She said angrily, and she was pacing back and forth as she talked into the phone, and the one on the other side talked back to her.

There was a discussion, or so it seemed, as Gilda heard what the person on the other side said, and after a while, she finally sighed, seemingly in resignation, and she turned off.

Gilda walked back to the crew, a somber expression on her face, as she stood and looked at them. She sighed, and she said:

"Devin…" She spoke, looking to the tiger who had been comforting Jasmine. "Please, go get one of the backup cameras ready." The tiger hesitated for a moment, but he nodded and went inside the van. The bear turned to the dog, who looked back at her with his hazelnut-colored eyes. "Henry, the boss wants us to give special coverage of the aftermath of this. You will be on air in a few…"

Henry looked at her. He was not the kind to refuse a job. Especially if it was a chance to be on live. However, after everything that had just happened…

"Gilda… I… I think I can't…"

The bear turned to look at him, and she walked in his direction with slow but sure steps. Henry was just around five feet tall, and so, Gilda knelt in front of him to be on his eye level.

"People are scared." She spoke to him. "They need to know what is going on. They need to know that some survived. They need to see what is happening." Her tone didn't truly have emotion, but it was steady and calming in its own way. "We need to let people know. That is our job."

Henry looked back at her and seeing her expression really made him quite troubled. He saw that she was dead serious as she spoke that, and the fact that she was being so nice instead of telling him to "suck it up and do it!" was enough to convince him that she was really shaken.

"I-I know, Gilda." The black and brown-furred dog said. "But… I just came back from the center and… That was… It was too much for me… I need a break…" He said, looking down before he looked up: "Can't Frank do it?"

Her expression changed nearly immediately, even though it was very subtle. She looked away, and for a moment Henry could swear that he had seen a tear rolling down her cheek. All of sudden, Henry noticed that the mood around seemed to have shifted just with these words. Some of the crew were not looking at the ground, and Jasmine now was sobbing.

Henry blinked, as he looked at each one of the members of the crew, seeing how their mood had changed just after that simple suggestion. It took him a few seconds, but he finally noticed just what was amiss in the scene.

"W-wait…" Henry said, looking back at Gilda.

"…where is Frank?"

* * *

Nick had to hold Judy back. He had to hold her to prevent her from bursting through the door, getting into their car and driving all the way to Fangtropolis.

"Nick, let me go!" The bunny said as she tried to get free from the fox's grip, but Nick continued to hold her.

"Carrots, calm down."

"Let me go!" She said, "I gotta go help!"

"How?" Nick asked her, making her look into his eyes as she spoke to her. "By driving a hundred miles to another city, so you can just stay in there and watch as that thing rains in the city? Or to jump into the city only for that thing to swallow you up as well?"

There was silence, broke only by the heavy breathing of the bunny, and by the static of the TV, that had gone off air in the moment of that strange explosion, leaving the fate of the mammals in the helicopter an incognita to who was watching.

"I… I'll think of something when I get there!" She said, renewing her struggles. But Nick held onto her. "I have to go, Nick! I'm a cop! These mammals need help! I need to go and help-"

"Judy, you can't help them!" Nick said, so firmly that it made Judy flinch. She looked up to him, as he took deep breaths. His face was a mask that she was so familiar with. However, she could see past this mask. The strained tone on his voice. The curling on the corners of his muzzle. The way his hands trembled slightly as his claws were coming out.

"You can't help them…" Nick said again, and this time, he was looking down. "None of us can help them…" The way his voice strained, the way his shoulders were shaking…

Judy was able to get out of her own despair as she saw Nick like that. She looked at him, and she said softly:

"Nick…"

"We can't help them…" Nick said once more, his voice more strained.

"Nick… please, calm down…" Judy said, and Nick raised his face, to look right at her.

Not a word was exchanged. They both only stared at each other's eyes for a while. Judy's cheeks were still wet because of the tears. She got closer, and she hugged him. She once more began to cry silently, and Nick did the only thing he could think of: he hugged her as tight as he could and dared.

There was nothing more than the sound of the static of the TV and of Judy's silent crying. Until…

" _Here is Nolan McGrowl, from Channel 8, with breaking news!"_

The sound of TV went mostly unnoticed, as both mammals only continued to hug each other.

" _Not too long ago, in the city of Fangtropolis, where the fifth Pred-Pride Show was going to happen, there was an unprecedented event that resulted in the destruction of the city. We are trying to obtain more news on the subject, and meanwhile, we will pass by our crew that is in place. Here is McGrowl from the studio, what is happening there?_ "

* * *

The image changed to a German shepherd of black fur and with a brown muzzle and neck. His ears were somewhat droopy, and he had a strained look on his face, but it was hidden behind a professional and objective façade.

" _Studio, this is Henry Dogbert, covering the aftermath of… whatever it was that happened."_ The dog said. " _As you can see behind me, most of the city of Fangtropolis has been destroyed-_ " Behind the dog, the ruins of what once was a proud city. As he spoke, another of the buildings came crashing down, causing a sound that the camera captured. This caused the dog to flinch, but he held his composure. " _By an event that started roughly at midnight"_

The two mammals in that room continued to watch, both of them more quiet than it was normal to them.

Bucky and Pronk now sat on the same chair, both snuggling closer to each other, with upset expressions on their faces, as they held hooves. None of them said a word as they just snuggled and looked at the TV.

* * *

Benjamin had been anxious to get home and turn on the TV when he got off the work. The prospect of being able to see Gazelle perform in the Pred-Pride Show was something amazing to him, so he was more than happy to get ready for it.

He got home, got off his uniform, took a quick bath and changed into some very comfortable clothes, including an "I Love Gazelle" T-shirt.

Soon he was sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn and a can of soda nearby, happy and giddy.

However, it all changed when the tragedy started to happen.

Benjamin could hardly believe his eyes. That destruction. That horror. It could not be. It just could not be.

" _The events that caused this…"_ Dogbert continued to narrate, but there was a pause, as he started to try to think of the right words to speak. " _I… I guess that there is no better way of describing it… they were not natural…_ "

As the dog said these words, images flashed through Ben's eyes.

_Bloodied paws._

_A twisted grin in a cheetah's face._

_Someone holding his paw._

_A whole car flipped._

_A motionless body in front of him._

Ben let out an upset squeal as he bent over, grabbing his own head with both paws. His breath was fast and hitched. His pupils were shrinking, as his heartbeat got faster and faster.

As he was about to slip, he felt something land softly on his shoulder.

Blinking, the cheetah looked up, to see two pairs of glowing red eyes looking at him.

* * *

" _The city has been nearly completely destroyed."_ Dogbert continued to narrate the events. " _It… it is hard to estimate the number of victims that were made by this event. But it is safe to assume that there were many loses… we… we have lost a member of our crew… Frank Howlen has… vanished during the events… may his soul find peace…"_

"I know! I'm seeing it!" Bogo said as he paced back and forth while talking on his cellphone, passing right in front of the small television on his desk. "I was watching, okay!? I know how bad it was!" Bogo said as he hung up on his cellphone, and the phone on his desk was ringing. A second later, his cellphone started to ring again.

More and more mammals were calling him to talk about had happened in Fangtropolis. Bogo was being overloaded with calls, and he tried to deal with all of them as he tries to understand what had happened.

* * *

" _Whatever was the event that caused this destruction, seems to have ended. However, the damage that was made has remained."_ Dogbert continued, as a vixen looked at the television.

She was probably around her late forties or early fifties, but she still looked healthy. She had the fur of her body a soft shade of russet, with black on her ears and white on her under the muzzle and down her neck. She was wearing just nightclothes of soft pink as she was watching the news, one paw on her chest while the other was clutching the side of her body.

" _The hole in the air, from which the black mud originated, has closed."_ Dogbert said, he gave a pause, and then he said, " _Yes, you all heard it right. I said it once, and I'm saying it again: what happened here tonight was **not** a natural event. It was… it was supernatural… Some of you might think I'm crazy for seeing this, but this is what I think, and no one will change my mind._"

As the dog spoke, Sophie Wilde tensed into the chair as he looked at the TV. The paw on her side clutched her body tighter, as if that part of her body was in pain…

* * *

There were a lot of things that the Hopps family liked. Among them, there was the fact that they loved music. Some of them even had their own bands. Of course, they were not going to miss a performance of music on a Saturday night.

The cheerful bunch of bunnies had reunited in front of their giant screen TV in their living room, looking forward to a great concert.

Of course, none of them could predict that what was supposed to be a night of fun and music would turn into one of tragedy and horror.

Kids were crying as they were guided back to their rooms by adults, and even the most cheerful of the bunch was now looking somber as they saw the aftermath being transmitted on TV.

" _There are no words to describe how big of a tragedy this is."_ Dogbert continued to the camera, as his voice was transmitted to a giggle fo bunnies who looked at the television, many of them still trying to even understand what had happened.

There was a long moment of silence, as the dog pondered on the next words that he was going to say.

" _I… I was never a religious dog… but… may the gods help us_." He spoke, sounding very serious as he spoke that. " _To help us get through this, and to move on with our lives… Fritz, Fenrir, Minos… whatever gods that there are out there… help us get through this **darkest hour** … Back to you, studio…"_

Many bunnies were talking among themselves, some of them were crying, some of them only looked somber, and some of them were guzzling down cans of booze as they tried to get wasted.

Among them, Stu was sitting on the couch. He was left speechless, his lips quivering as he watched that.

"Ohh, sweet cheese and crackers…" Stu said, his lip quivering more. "Bonnie, do you believe…" Stu started to say as he turned around to Bonnie, who was sitting by his side, only to find out that the seat was empty.

"Bonnie?"

Bonnie was in another part of the house, and she was picking up the phone.

She dialed, and placed the phone close to her ear, as she heard the sound that signaled that it was calling.

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." She said, as she waited for someone on the other side to answer, and as soon, as they did, she said:

"I want to talk to Antonius."

There was a pause, and she said: "This is Bonnie"

…

"Bonnie Hopps."

…

"Oh, just quit it! You know very well who I am!"

…

Bonnie's ears perked, and then they fell flat, as she took a hand to her face, frowning, and she let out a groan.

"Yes… it is _Helga_." She said in a whisper, looking over her shoulder to know that no one was listening. "Now pass me to Tony. I gotta speak to him…" Bonnie spoke. Any of her children, grandchildren, or her own husband, who came across her now and took a look at her face, would see her more serious than they had ever seen in their lives…


	4. After the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world tries to move on after a tragedy.

One of the most meaningful traits toward mammals in general, no matter the species, is their capacity to overcome adversities and to grow after experiencing events both good and bad. This trait that shows all mammals can adapt in the same way, and it was something that allowed them to evolve from their previous savage state to the state of sentience that they had in the present days.

Some things took time to be overcome, as they were the kind of trauma that clung onto you, and it was the thing that would follow you for a time, sometimes forever. Others were the kind of annoyance that you were just able to shrug off and continue to move on as if it was nothing.

What had happened into Fangtropolis was not the kind of thing that you can just shrug off.

The destruction of a whole city is not the kind of thing that you can just ignore and continue to live on with.

The deaths of so many are not the kind of thing that can be ignored just like that, unless you have a hole where your soul was supposed to be.

Fangtropolis was one of the most famous cities in the country. It was the home for a population of mammals of over eight million, and it was all destroyed in a single night, resulting in the deaths of many creatures, both prey and predator. Well, they are dead, it's just going be hard to actually identify the bodies to know for sure…

Many had managed to escape by leaving the city, however, many more had not been so lucky. As a result, the loss of lives was estimated in the house of millions.

The following morning had been a hard one.

Teams had arrived in the place, coming from all sides. Some came from nearby cities, and others had arrived from more distant locations.

There were reporter teams, wanting to cover the aftermath of the destruction of the city.

There were firefighters and disaster squads, all of them dealing with the damages left behind. As well as medical teams, who had come to deal with anyone that was needing medical support, be them the ones who escaped, or the ones who had somehow, miraculously managed to survive that destruction.

There was also the army. They had come in there without warning and without being announced, as they wanted to investigate this event and see if they could find an answer to what could have caused it. As it seemed, they could fear it had been some kind of attack or a new natural disaster of some kind.

Many had arrived in the city, and all that they saw was destruction.

However, this did not stop them, as all of them were ready to work.

The following morning and afternoon were the beginning of the search for survivors.

Some were hesitant into walking into the city due to what they had seen and heard, however, they discovered that the black mud that had caused that destruction was long gone.

By walking into the city, they saw many burnt buildings and some partially melted, as the mud had left behind a great deal of destruction. Some of the structures were still fragile, with some of the buildings threatening to collapse. This forced the teams to be very careful as they continued to look for any possible survivors among that tragedy.

The most terrifying, however, what was had become of what seemed to be the mammals caught by the mud.

All over the street, it was possible to see blackened forms that resembled mammals. Some of them looked quite convincing, while others only resembled mammals vaguely. They were across the street as if they were statues, in many different positions. In a corner, there was a blackened form that looked like a feline, curled over herself, almost like a kitten, as if she was shielding herself from something. In another corner, there was what seemed to be something that was nearly a skeleton, with a position as if it had been fighting to get free of something, an arm raise and outstretch as if to reach for something, while the maw was open in what seemed like a mute scream.

These scenes were all over the city. This made the search parties unsure if they would actually find someone who had actually managed to survive something like this. Still, they had a job to do, and they intended to do it. So, they searched.

It took them hours, but they finally found the first of the survivors:

It was a young tigress. She was hidden inside an old fridge in the remnants of what once was her house, curled over herself as she hugged a stuffed toy. Somehow, the mud had not managed to reach her. She was tired and trembling, and she was asking for her mommy.

She was the first of the survivors found in the wreckage. Some had managed to escape the destruction and the mud. Some of them had found shelter into the buildings that had not collapsed and that had remained after the destruction was gone. Some of them had gotten in the ceiling of the houses, barely avoiding the destruction. Some of them had somehow managed to remain out of the reach of the mud somehow, and they were able to survive that ordeal against all odds.

Some of them even had barely survived, as they had gained marks and scars that would remind them of that horror for the rest of their lives.

Some of them had been buried under the debris of fallen buildings, but they had still somehow managed to survive, as if by a miracle, to that horror that had befallen to that city and the disaster of a building falling over them. These were considered to be the luckiest ones, even though this definition could surely be up to debate.

Each one of these impossible survivors that were found on the remains of the destroyed city encouraged the teams to continue to search. For the rest of the day.

For the second day.

For the third day.

Non-stopping searches continued, and they found forty-eight survivors.

Forty-eight souls that had escaped that hell.

Forty-eight souls that were still alive in spite of all the odds.

Forty-eight souls, of the nearly eight millions of mammals that had lived in that city.

Forty-eight souls that were found in the three days of restless searches.

* * *

_Somewhere in England._

The doors of the room were closed. The room was made to be soundproof, both to avoid something would bother the ones inside from the outside, and to avoid what was said inside to be listened to by unwanted parties. However, even so, if someone passed by the door, they could make out the sounds of shouts coming from the inside.

"This is unacceptable!" Said a small mammal with a surprisingly powerful voice, as he slammed his fist into the round table where they were gathering. Some of the other mammals there jumped slightly, as the little mammal fumed in anger. He was a fennec fox, with fur of the color of sand and big ears, as it was common for his species. He had signs of age, as it was possible to see in streaks of silver fur on the sides of his head and on the wrinkles on his face, which got worse with the frown that he had on from his outrage. He wore a white suit on his body with a purple tie around his neck. He could not be bigger than three feet tall, still, he had an imposing voice that would cause anyone to respect him, and the expression of barely contained fury on his face did a lot to increase the power of his presence.

"In the middle of a city!" He shouted again, "With millions of victims! Transmitted on live television!" He said, looking around each one of the mammals that were into the table, predator and prey alike. "How did this happen?! Someone explain to me!"

No one said a word for a while, and the fennec fox than turned to another mammal who was sitting around the table:

"You!" He said as he pointed to a corner of the table, to a wolf who was sitting across the table. This wolf had brown colored fur over his body, with a cream coloration on his under muzzle, and surely going down his chest. His body was tone and muscled, it was the body of someone who was no stranger to the gym, and the fact that he was nearly seven feet tall when he was standing did help in his imposing figure. He also had a mean-looking scar on the side of his face, looking like it had been made by someone with really big claws, which helped to pass the image of a hardcore mammal. He was dressed less elegantly than the fennec, as he wore simple clothing, a forest green shirt and a pair of camouflage pants. His eyes were of a deep crimson color, and they looked back at the fennec as he pointed a finger at him.

"You said you had sent one of your best to the area to offer extra supervision!" The fennec said accusingly. "To prevent things from running out of control!"

"I did." The wolf said to him in a deep voice, his arms crossed as he looked at the fennec. "Clawson has always been one of our best operatives. I personally assigned him for this task because he was the most qualified for it."

"Then how did this happen!?" The fennec demanded. "Was your 'best-qualified agent' an incompetent one!?"

The wolf's lips curled as if he was ready to snarl, and this was enough to reduce the fire of the fennec fox, but not by much.

"This is a disaster…" The fennec said in a depressed tone, resting his head in both hands. "A complete and utter disaster…"

"We can deal with it." Someone else said. The impala had a fur on her body that was white as snow, which brought out her pink snout and equally pink eyes. She was a slender figure, with a voluptuous breast area, kind of like the famous singer Gazelle. She was wearing a long and elegant white dress and jewelry of silver on her body, including some silvery chains in both of her horns, which were just as pink as her own eyes, something quite unusual, even for albinos, as she seemed to be. She looked at the others as she spoke. "We have dealt with other situations before, and we surely can deal with this."

"It is different this time, and you know it, Vanhorne." Another mammal said. He was a lynx with light brown fur. He had a mass of fur around his lower neck that was of white and black coloration, with black around the trim of his ears and with black stripes and spots on his body, and with white around his yellow eyes. He was probably 4'6'' feet tall when standing, and his fit form imposed respect, as well as the harsh expression on his face. He was wearing a red social shirt, with dark-grey pants and blazer over it. He had his arms crossed and was leaning on his chair.

"We never had quite a situation like that." He spoke in a hard tone.

"We already had occasions in which there were witnesses who couldn't be taken care of." The impala, Vanhorne, spoke. "We were able to discredit them and make the situation solve itself."

"We are not talking about a single witness that could be easily discredited and labeled as a lunatic." The lynx said his tone annoyed now "We are talking about an event that was transmitted to a whole country. Something that was shown to the world and that many saw with their own eyes. We never quite had a situation like that before."

"The understatement of the year." Said another mammal in a sarcastic manner, the one speaking was a goat. He had black fur on his body, with some white colored tuft of fur on the top of his head, kind of looking like hair, and he also had a pair of horns that grew backward, both yellow in coloration and looking quite imposing. His chin was decorated with a beard of white fur. He was wearing social clothes, black long-legged pants, a green shirt with a red tie, and on top of it, he was wearing a cloak of black and grey coloration, with a trinity-theme on its trimming. He had half-moon glasses in his face, allowing him to have a better vision with his eyes of a golden yellow. Though the clothing that he was wearing didn't let it show, he was actually quite fit, not being buff like the wolf, but not being scrawny, looking like a standard healthy goat. His hooved hands were in front of his face, showing the gloves he had, black and with golden detail, matching the anklets that he had around his ankles. "After all, it is not like we have ever had things captured on video and transmitted to the news with frequency. It would make quite hard to keep ourselves in the shadows if we did."

"Oh, shut it, Calves!" The fennec said angrily, glaring at the black goat, who merely looked undisposed back at him through his half-moon glasses.

"Many consider you one of the smartest members of the Council! So instead of wise-cracking, you could try to offer a solution!" The fennec accused. Calves, the goat, merely looked back at him for a few moments, before he said:

"Well, I did offer a solution before." He spoke in a calm tone. "Quite repeatedly, if I were to add."

The fennec rolled his eyes, and slumped into the chair, as the mammals in the table shared looks among themselves.

"I have been telling you for years that we should banish it for good." The goat said, "It has always been too dangerous. Too powerful. Too unpredictable. It was only a matter of time before something like that happened."

"It has been made for centuries." Another voice came, it was a horse. He stood tall in his chair, proudly in his fine black suit, with his dark-brown fur, black nose, beady hazelnut eyes, and with a mane that was considerably long. Matter of fact, his mane was so long that it had to be tied to prevent it from going all the way down to the ground, and even still, it went as far as the middle of his back. His body was also fit, but not like the wolf, revealing that he was someone who was used to being away from the action, he was a researcher and not a soldier. "I must admit that it has run out of control in certain situations, but it has always been in the reach of our management."

"Well, it was not this time." Calves said calmly. "Something went wary. More so than in the previous times."

"Can anyone say what it was?" Said the lynx in the grey blazer. The fennec was the one who reacted to this, pointing at the wolf with a green shirt.

"Mieczyslaw! Your agent was in there! Does he knows what happened!? Has he said anything!?"

The wolf merely looked back at him, and he sighed, with a somber expression.

"He has not reported back since the event." The wolf, Mieczyslaw, spoke to the table, and everyone looked at him in silence. "No one has been able to find him. He is already presumed missing."

"You could very well presume him dead by now." Calves said matter-of-factly. "As well as the other ones."

"Do you think they all died?" The horse asked.

"Did you had any news of them ever since the event?" The goat asked, looking at the wolf who shook his head.

"No." Mieczyslaw spoke. "We have been trying to track them ever since the event, but with no success."

"They are probably hiding!" The fennec said. "They know that they will have to answer for this! The cowards!"

"The ones who might still be alive, you mean." Calves said once more. "After all, it is not uncommon to have few survivors."

"We are still monitoring, but we cannot find anything." Mieczyslaw said once more. "For the past three days our agents in the USA have been following their tracks and keeping watch, they are even keeping track of their clans and other relatives, but they cannot find a trace of them. Is like they have vanished."

"Do you think they all died in that?" Vanhorne asked, and Calves sighed.

"Would it be a surprise? It destroyed a whole city and killed millions."

"And the whole world saw it!" The fennec cried out in dismay, "How do we fix it!?"

"We can't." Mieczyslaw said with his somber tone. "We cannot fix the lives that were lost and destroyed. No one can." He spoke, and the fennec groaned as he heard that.

"Yeah, it is sadly true." Another voice said in a light tone, and the eyes turned to another part of the table, there was a raccoon. He had fur of a very light grey coloration, with the traditional black area around his eyes like a mask, and with white around his muzzle. He had a smile on it, as the other members of the council were used to seeing, and his eyes were of a caramel coloration. He was quite thin for a raccoon and his slender body went through his suit, which did look like something an important business mammal would wear. He was wearing a suit as well, a black one with a blue shirt and a yellow tie. "We cannot change what already happened. However, we can remediate the situation in the position we are in now. I do believe that was what you were referring to, right, Mr. Sanders?"

Sanders, the fennec fox, glared at the raccoon, who had a smile on his face as he looked back at him with his caramel-colored eyes.

"Yes… and what are your suggestions, Maskell?"

"Misleading and misinformation, of course." The raccoon said in a cheery tone, "This is basically the base of all that we do, right?"

"The _only_ thing that _you_ do, you mean." The fennec said as if he was noting a fact. Many raccoons would take offense to what was just said, but Maskell seemed to actually consider it a compliment.

"Mammals tend to believe in nearly anything, as long as it is something that they want to hear. We just need to give them an explanation that will please them, and they might even let go of it."

"There is no way anyone can let go of that." Mieczyslaw said.

"True, but we can offer them an explanation that will prevent them from asking more questions." Maskell continued. "Just make them look into another direction to maintain them in their state of blissful ignorance."

"Have you seen the images of the event that were transmitted?" Calves asked and, as the goat expected, there was not an answer. "It was an explosion of red light that punched a hole in the air, which cascaded a black mud that set anything it touched on fire. It was transmitted live in national scale to all the USA, and in the past three days it has been the main topic of all news in the country, and is already gaining space in the international news." The goat said, looking at the raccoon as he spoke that. "Many questions are already being asked, some questions that even you will find hard to answer. If you manage to make them look away from this, I'll be impressed."

"We _have_ to remediate the situation!" Sanders said as he slammed a paw on the table again. "We have kept ourselves out of sight for centuries! We cannot allow everything to crumble down now! We need to make sure that we remain a secret!" The mammals in the table agreed with him, and the goat merely sighed.

"What if it's no longer possible?"

Like a catacomb that could devastate a whole country, that single question had an impact in every single mammal present. That single question carried all of their fears and worries in it. That single question made feelings of dread creep upon them, and filled them with worry about the answer for it.

"You should not be saying these things!" Sanders said in annoyance. "You should not even be _thinking_ these things, Calves!"

"I'm just asking a question that I know is in everyone's minds." The goat spoke, still sounding calm as he spoke. "As it was already spoken, this situation is different from all of the ones we had before. So, I guess we are all wondering if keeping a secret might even be possible by now."

"We will not admit defeat!" Sanders demanded, the volume of his voice surprising for someone that small. "We are the Council, and we cannot even consider this a possibility, and you, as a member of this council, should not be speaking such things!" The fennec said, pointing an accusing finger to the goat, who only looked back at him.

"We need to do our best now." Another voice came, and the eyes turned to another member of the gathering. Another wolf, this one bigger than Mieczyslaw, with a sleeveless shirt that allowed everyone to see his muscled arms, and loose pants, both in shades of blue. His body was bulky and toned, covered into the fur of a deep grey coloration, and his eyes were yellow like gold, and both had a serious but composed expression to them.

"We are the Council, and as so, we can do nothing more than to attain to our duties." The big wolf spoke, and Maskell spoke:

"Thank you, Mr. Lupine, for stating the obvious."

The other members of the table glared angrily at the raccoon, but he was unfazed, and so was Lupine, the wolf.

"Each one of us in here has achieved the position we have now due to our knowledge, our power, and our responsibility, and now, it is an occasion in which we must prove that we do deserve to be part of this council." He spoke, and right after that, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it!?" Sanders demanded, turning to the door, and after a few seconds, the door opened, to reveal the face of a reindeer with dark-brown fur and modest antlers decorating his head. His green eyes flicked in between the faces of the ones in the table, faces that looked intently back at him before he met the eyes of a certain mammal.

"Hmmm. P-Pr. Calves."

"Harvey." The goat said seriously as he looked at the younger mammal. "I told you to wait."

"I-I know, but is that… I-I was browsing on the internet…" He spoke, and these words granted many frowning looks from the other members of the council. "I found a thing."

"If it is another video of penguins it can wait." The goat said.

"No, it's not!" The reindeer said, and he approached. He was carrying a computer in his paws. The reindeer dressed in what seemed to be some kind of school uniform of crimson and white ran to the side of the black goat and started to talk with him in rushed whispers. This seemed to get the goat's attention as he started to discuss with the reindeer.

Sanders rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself.

"How did _he_ even became a member of this Council…"

"You know Calves, you give your students way too much freedom." The horse with the very long mane spoke but Calves paid him little mind.

"As I was saying." Lupine said, "Each one of us is a member of the prestige of our community, not only in this country, but worldwide." He spoke to each member of the council present, even Calves, who seemed now to be looking at the computer and seeing what the reindeer had to show him. "Each one of us is an individual of power and respect, and we have many times showed that we are the fittest to make the best decisions. Now, it is no different."

He looked at each one of them. "Yes, this situation is different from all the ones we ever had, yes, it is going to be a difficult time, and yes, we all are going to face our greatest worries and problems with the coming days. However, as members of this council, we are to push through the difficulties and to prove our value. This council now must act." He said, punctuating his word by tapping his claw in the table, and there was a collective mumble of agreement from the rest of the table.

"This council must act with precision, efficiency, and good sense. Most of all, we must act with unity towards our goal and with determination, if we are to have any chance to remediate this. It might be a great challenge, but we need to keep our focus on the task ahead of us." Lupine said, and the table all agreed with him, meanwhile, Calves was just looking at the computer still.

"Now, Maskell." Lupine turned to the raccoon. "I do believe you did had some ideas on how to proceed-"

"Oh my…" Calves said, interrupting the wolf as the eyes now turned to him. He was looking at the screen of the electronic device, a hand over his chin as he had a concerned expression on his face. He looked up from the screen, looking at the mammals all gathered in that table, all of which had now their eyes on him.

"We might have yet another problem…"

The ones gathered were looking at him, some of them with raised eyebrows, and in seeing their reactions, the goat turned the computer around so they could see the screen and pressed play.

The members looked at the image that was playing before them, and soon, their confused expressions turned into expressions of surprise, shock, even of horror.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Sanders screamed on top of his lungs before his head smacked into the table in defeat. Meanwhile, the rest of the council was in an uproar.

* * *

The time you take to recover from something depends on how bad that something was. If it was a fight with a friend, it might take only a few hours or a few days. If it was a death in the family, it could surely take days, and you would never quite get over it.

If it was the terrible destruction of a whole city and the death of its whole population, well, it surely it would take a while. Some mammals thought it was stupid to cry over other mammals that you barely knew. Judy Hopps was not among these. She had cried in the night she witnessed that destruction. She spends the night hugging Nick, and in the next morning, she barely felt like getting up from bed for all the morning and the beginning of the afternoon.

And now, nearly three days later…

"… _And the searches for survivors continue in the remains of what once was Fangtropolis_." A female voice came from the television. " _Up until now four dozens of survivors were found among the destruction. Searches are continuing as we speak, and some of the teams-_ "

Judy rose her hand and pressed the remote's button, changing the channel.

 _"-Specialists are still trying to come with an explanation of the event that resulted in the destruction of Fangtropolis."_ A male voice came. " _Both the army and the government have, up until now, remained in silence over the rumors of a new kind of weapon-_ "

Changing channel.

 _"-It is just crazy, you know?" A male voice came from the television, and continued: "We were supposed to be in the town that night… My family and I…_ _I was to have a meeting, but I canceled it in the last moment to have a spontaneous vacation with my wife and our kittens… We left before sunset. We were still on the road when that happened. The kittens had fallen asleep when I heard the news through the radio. I could barely believe it… I-if I had not canceled my meeting and decide to go for this vacation... It could have been us… It could have been me and my family among the victims… I… Oh, God…"_

With a grunt, the bunny rose her hand and clicked another button, this time she turned the television off. She was sitting on her desk, the small television on her cubicle just turned off as she looked at the thing she had improvised for herself.

It was a blackboard that she often used to have notes and to write down important things that she had to remember and to put some of her pictures from family and friends. However, she had turned it into a small "research center" concerning the disaster of Fangtropolis, what was being called by some as "Darkest Hour".

There were a lot of notes and hypothesis drew in it, some of it crossed, some connected to other notes and hypothesis and even to pictures and even random words. Judy had started to work in there on her first day back work after their off Sunday. She had been designed to do desk duty, along with Nick, and she had used that time to try to make sense of all that had happened. In less than one hour, she had a mural ready, and she had been working on it in every free time she got, doing researches online, printing images and news reports from online, and adding them to the mural.

She was intending to repeat the process in that day, as she had once more been assigned to desk duty. She was just looking in her computer, looking in the news websites to see if she could find anything new.

Judy was focused on the screen, but her ear twitched as she could hear someone approaching.

"Hey, there, officer Carrots." Came the familiar voice of a fox. Judy only gave a quick "hi, Nick" as she did not move her eyes away from the computer. There was a brief silence as the fox approached, and placed a box in the desk. However, Judy seemed not to have even noticed.

"Really, Carrots?" Nick said, "Not even a look in the eyes? And after the work, I had to find a donut store that sold sweet carrot-flavored donuts…"

Judy rolled her eyes but continued focused on the screen. "Thanks for that. I'll eat it later during my break." She spoke, as she screened over another news website, seeing a new article that was just posted about "The Darkest Hour".

"Carrots… Carrots! Judy." Nick said, and this was enough to make her stop a moment, for it was rare for Nick to call her by her first name. Also, the fact that he had placed a paw on her arm helped to get her attention.

She took her eyes off the computer and looked at Nick. He was once more on his police uniform, and he had an expression on his face as Judy looked at him. It was quite rare to see anything break to his cynic façade. However, ever since the event of three nights ago, it seemed that the façade had shattered, and Nick had been trying to rebuild it. It was clear that the smug smile was not what it was before that night, still, Nick seemed to be recovering with time. Still, it was possible to see past the mask that he once wore easier now, and Judy could see the genuine worry as he looked at her.

"Judy, I think that you are focusing way too much on the Fangtropolis thing." He said genuinely. "I think that Chief Buffalo-Butt's idea of giving us both desk duties was to try and take our heads off this subject for a while."

Judy looked back at him serious, as she spoke:

"I can't just let it go Nick." She had that familiar intensity in her eyes as she spoke that. "I just can't…"

"I know." Nick said. "But you need to take your mind off it for a little bit." The fox said, holding her by the shoulders. "You need to focus on, I don't know, making the reports about the antelope that was caught shoplifting last week. Or maybe about checking the traffic cameras to see if you can catch someone going through a red light. Because this-" Nick gestured at her "disaster mural" in which she worked at every chance she got "-is surely not good for you."

Judy looked down, and she was thinking of a reply to this when another voice came.

"It sure isn't."

Both mammals looked up to see the bigger mammal in there. Chief Bogo looked down on the two mammals, his usual expression as he looked at the two mammals, who seemed surprised for seeing him.

 _"I heard Nick's footsteps, but I could not hear his hooves… how can someone so big be so silent?"_ Judy thought as she looked at her boss.

"Hopps, I remember clearly telling you to focus on the work here at the station." The buffalo said, and he gave a glance at the mural that the bunny had made. "That does not look like the work in the station."

Judy needed a few moments to recover, but she did, and she said. "I was just… collecting facts, sir. Just a regular investigation."

"Except that, I didn't assign you to do this." Bogo said seriously as he looked down on the bunny. "Neither could I, because this is no jurisdiction of the ZPD. This is the jurisdiction of the national agencies, like the ZIA and the FBI. They are the ones who are investigating this thing."

"But sir-"

"AND-" Bogo said, cutting the bunny off, "-if you are really investigating it on your own, unauthorized, and without a warrant of the ones with the jurisdiction, you are breaking a lot of rules. And that is something that none of us expects from Officer Judy Hopps."

Judy didn't have an answer to that. Yes, she knew that it was not her jurisdiction and that she should not be "investigating" it. She even found out one or to excuses for that, like saying that she was doing it as part of personal research on the subject, so maybe she could at some time tip the ones investigating about the subject. However, under the hard gaze of the buffalo, the excuses she had come up with were lost within seconds.

There was a long moment of silence before the buffalo sighed, and he said:

"I know that it affected you." He spoke. "Affected everyone, believe me. I spent the rest of that night receiving calls from nearly everyone. The mayor. The mammals in the city hall. Some other chiefs from other precincts. Mammals who had watched that and wanted to know what it was and for me to do something about that…"

There was another brief silence, and Bogo continued:

"There is nothing we can do now." He spoke, sounding somber. "Nothing we can do about the subject. That is a sad truth. It is a national matter, and as so, it is the jurisdiction of the national agencies. We have to accept it, even though we might really want to do something about the matter."

Judy noticed the look on his eyes, and she knew: the Chief also wanted to do something about the matter, but his paws were tied by the rules. That was something that sometimes happens in the police work, the very same rules that they upheld and followed sometimes prevented them from acting. This was the case with jurisdictions, and they could not just go over the rules to assume the case as their own as they showed in the tv series. That was just not the way things went.

After a few moments, the bunny asked:

"What can we do then?"

"Our job." Was Bogo's simple answer. "We focus on the now. We do what we can. We solve what is within our reach." He looked at the two officers. "That is the job of police officers. It is all that we can do."

There was a small silence as Judy and Nick both acknowledged these words. A silence that was broken when the chief once more spoke:

"A job, that you two need to do."

"Okie Dokie." Nick said with a salute, as he was turning around to go back to his own desk, while Judy was about to go back working on hers' when the buffalo added.

"You both are going in the streets."

This made both mammals stop and look back at the much bigger mammal.

"Excuse me?" Judy asked, "Sir, I thought we both had been assigned to be on desk duty today."

"You were." Bogo said, "But we just received information about a public disturbance downtown. All the other officers have already been dispatched to their own assignments, and we don't have anyone available to check on this. So, I'm putting you two to take care of this."

The bunny and fox shared a look.

"It is basically a simple call of a mammal who claims that some guys are creating a ruckus on the street. Nothing serious, you just go in there to check and to apprehend anyone who is actually causing trouble. It is routine. Just pass by Clawhauser and he will give you the exact address."

The buffalo didn't even wait for their answer, as he just turned around and walked away. The two mammals stayed behind, and within the silence, Nick said:

"Well, it looks like we do have a job, right?" He said, making the bunny look at him. He smiled at her and asked:

"Ready to make the world a better place?"

Judy looked at him, seeing how Nick was now using her own motto on her, and she couldn't help but smile.

The duo was soon passing by Clawhauser, who was silently munching on some donuts. In the past days, the cheetah had not been as giddy and bubbly as he usually was. Many attributed it to the fact that he was one of the mammals who had watched the event unfold live by television, and that the cheetah was always sensitive about things. He had gotten impressed by the images that he saw, and more than once, Judy could swear that she saw him crying at a corner. Everyone tried to cheer him up the best they could, and they managed to improve his mood slightly. Still, it was clear that what happened had a great impact on him.

He gave them the address downtown, and after Nick made a little joke to cheer up the cheetah, which granted a small smile, the double was going into their cruiser and driving in direction to the place.

As she drove, Judy thought that maybe it was a good way of taking her mind off the subject for a while. Maybe it would be good for her, even because, focusing on that single subject for a very long time could not be healthy for her. As she looked back at her partner, who was wearing his shades once more and smiling his usual smirk at her, she sighed and drove to their next assignment.

* * *

The drive was of nearly fifteen minutes, and soon, the duo was parking into a corner near the street, and as soon as they did, a mammal came very quickly to meet them.

It was a female armadillo. She had a grayish-brown coloration on her body and on the shell on her back. She wore a red blouse and a white long skirt on her, which, like all armadillos, was beneath her shell. The part that connected the shell of their backs was only in the middle of the back, leaving the rest of it as space through which the fabric could slide to be fit within the form. Nick knew this now, but when he was younger, he actually thought that the armadillos could remove their shells to be able to wear clothes. This armadillo was just a little bit shorter than Nick, and she came to them with a serious expression on her face.

"Are you the cops? Good, because I was wondering how long would you take to arrive-" She started, but stopped in her tracks when she looked at Nick. She had a raised eyebrow as she looked at him up and down. The expression on her face was one that Nick was familiar with, and he just kept his smirk on his face as he lowered his shades and looked at her, giving a wink.

The armadillo looked at him with outrage, and she seemed ready to say something when Judy cut in.

"I'm sorry, are you the one who called about a case of order disturbance?"

"Yes, it was me!" The armadillo said. "There are some low lives that are causing a ruckus on the street. I want you to arrest them."

"Some low lives, you say?" Nick said, "What exactly are they doing?"

"They are making a lot of noise and making a fuss!" The armadillo said, deliberating not looking at Nick, and talking only to Judy. "Also, two of them have taken off their shirts! In the middle of the street! How indecent..."

"So, they are disturbing order and also being indecent?" Judy asked. "Where are they, exactly?"

"Right this way. Come with me! And get your guns, they are troublesome!" She said, gesturing for them to follow, and the two mammals shared a look before they followed the armadillo lady.

Nick already had an impression in that armadillo lady, and she seemed like the kind of lady that didn't like free expression and diversity, and it wasn't just because of the way that she treated him, even though this did speak a few things about her.

As they followed her, soon they were spotting what seemed to be an agglomeration of mammals.

"Is that all of them?" Judy asked. "Because if it is, we might need back up."

"Nah, these are just curious." The armadillo said, sounding quite annoyed. "They have all stopped to watch these three clowns."

As they approached, the group of mammals in front of them had a small uproar, of what actually sounded somewhat like applauses and "woos". They also could hear some music coming from there as if someone was actually playing in there.

"Would the 'lowlifes' by any chance be a band?" Nick said as the sound became clearer as they came closer. "Because they are actually quite good."

The armadillo once more ignored him completely, and she continued to guide them in direction to the crowd.

"Excuse me. Move over. Mover over. I have cops with me!"

The armadillo was guiding them through that crowd. Many of the mammals were bigger than her, and while it was easy to pass through the legs of the much taller ones, they had to make a little effort to pass by some of the other mammals, but they were quick to open space when they saw that Nick and Judy both had police uniforms.

"There are they!" The armadillo lady said once they moved past the crowd, and now where t what seemed to be the center of the gathering. She was pointing forward, and looking over, Nick and Judy looked at the "lowlifes" that the lady was talking about. Three of them, to be precise, and all of them looked to be quite hard to miss.

The first one, the one who called the most attention, was a horse. He was a tall figure, standing on nearly seven feet tall, and with a toned physique, and it was possible to see what became the horse was shirtless. The fur on his body was of a milky chocolate-brown coloration, hands which had hooved fingers, and his head had a mane of black fur, and his forehead had a white marking that looked like a star. He was wearing a pair of jeans pants, with symbols in the legs that looked like the suits of cards. A black tissue belt held the pants to his body, but the pants were a little down, which allowed seeing glimpses of his colorful underwear. The fact that the horse was partially naked would make him quite worthy of attraction. However, what made him stand out was the fact that he was breakdancing like a pro. The horse moved in the rhythm of the music that was playing, swinging his legs and arms around in the rhythm, moving his body with skill and style. And he was not doing just some foot-in-foot-out thing, he was doing complex moves, which included backflips and handstands, with his hooves leaving the ground and then coming back down to tap hard in the concrete of the sidewalk. All the while, the horse had a smile on his face, and he would occasionally wink and point at the crowd, moments in which the crowd would have to applaud in admiration.

In the background, there was another mammal, which was the source of the music. It was a buff wolf, standing 6'2'' feet tall, and with a physique that would be fit for someone who went to the gym every day. He too was without a shirt, and it was possible to see his muscles, as well as the golden piercings that he had on his nipples. The wolf had black fur on his body, with a grey shade on his chest and down his stomach. On his head, there was a mix of shades, as the fur on the top of his head and down on his neck and back there was a mix of violet and blue, undoubtedly the result of dye. It was also possible to notice that the wolf had the same vibrant shades polishing his claws, both on his hands and on his feet. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants that were worm out and thorn. He was holding an electric guitar that was of the same shades of violet and blue of his dyed fur, and he was playing it as the horse continued to dance. The wolf threw and shook his head like a rock star as he played the guitar with skill.

The guitar made a sound as it was connected to the sound equipment of another mammal. This one was also a canine, but not a wolf. It was some kind of dog. It was hard to identify which specific breed, but he was shorter than the wolf, standing in good 4'9'' feet tall, with clothing that made it seem that he had just come out of a rave. He was wearing some bright neon-purple jacket on his body, with black gloves on his paws and a pair of black pants that had lines in them of the same shade of neon purple. The more striking about the wolf was that the fur that was visible on his head was blue, it probably was also dye, and it contracted with the white on his muzzle and down his jawline and neck. The wolf was using some portable mixer, which surely he was using to work the sound of the guitar of the wolf. The dog also had a smile on his face, and he was slightly bobbing his head in the rhythm of the tune of rock that the wolf was playing.

"Has the circus arrived?" Nick asked as he looked at the three mammals who seemed to be putting their own show in the streets. Judy had a raised eyebrow as she looked at this, and the armadillo lady seemed as if she just had enough.

"So, aren't you going to arrest them?" She asked, gesturing at the three mammals, who continued to play, mix, and dance in the streets, granting some reactions from the crowd that had gathered to watch them.

"For… what, exactly?" Nick asked.

"You are cops, and your job is to arrest them!" Was the armadillo's answer, and she once more seemed to be deliberating ignoring Nick. Judy gave her a glare for her tone and for her actions towards her partner, but she sighed.

"Come, Nick." The bunny said. "Let's have a talk with these mammals." Soon Nick was following the bunny, and as they came closer, the music became more intense, as the horse answered by dancing more frenetically, looking like he was performing in a dancing contest.

"Excuse me." Judy said, but the horse continued to dance as if he had not heard her, as he started to make backflips, his hooves clopping on the floor each time he returned to it.

" _Man, he is good._ " Was Nick's thought. Judy didn't liked being ignored.

"Excuse me! Sir!" The bunny said, louder, so her voice would be above the sound of the guitar. The horse landed on the ground in a dramatic pose. He looked over at the bunny and fox, with a smile on his face.

"Something wrong, officers?" He asked, right before he got back up and continued to dance.

"Nothing much." Nick said, as the horse was still dancing break, "Only someone seems to be bothered by you doing this. Not me, of course. You are a pretty good dancer."

"Thank you." The horse said, as he was now making a few complex moves that involved handstands, so his head was on the same level as the two shorter mammals. "I have been practicing. My father always said it was useless, and he said that investing my time on that was a waste and that it was a disgrace. So, no wonder I focused so much of my attention on it."

"Sir, may I ask you where is your shirt?" Judy asked.

"Right there, next to Butch's." The horse said.

"And Butch is…"

"The wolf with the guitar." The horse said. "The one in the mixer is Evan, and my name is Percy." The horse said, and he once more was back on his hooves, and he was dancing rhythmically as the wolf howled as he made a long solo with the guitar. Some wolves in the crowd actually howled back.

Nick rolled his eyes. " _Why do they always howl?_ "

"And… why have you took your shirts off?"

"I did it because it was easier for me to dance." The horse said, "Butch… I don't know, maybe because he wanted to show his new nipple piercings. It is not illegal, as far as I know."

"You are right." Nick said, "But the lady in there don't really like that you guys are shirtless."

The horse looked at Nick and followed his gesture to the armadillo lady that was looking at them as if they were criminals. The horse snorted, as he made a backflip and landed on his hooves once more. He put his tongue out, looking right at the woman, making a heart with his hands, and winking at her. She looked outraged by this.

Nick chuckled at this. The horse had personality, that much he could say.

The horse then stopped and turned to the two canines. "Okay, guys! We are done here!"

"What? Seriously?" The wolf said, stopping and looking at him. "I was about to put on a show!" He whined in to complain.

"Leave it for next time." The horse said. "Now gather your things, we are leaving." He turned to the two cops, "Officers." He said by inclining his head respectfully, and he was soon walking away.

Nick returned the gestured, and he and Judy were about to turn and leave, but someone was not happy with the turn that this situation was taking.

"Hey! Why are you letting them go?" The armadillo lady asked as she stepped forward. "Arrest them!"

"Why?" Nick asked, and the armadillo once more ignored him.

"As a good and upstanding citizen I demand you to arrest these lowlifes now!"

Judy looked at the woman, and soon, she was speaking:

"Ma'am, I have no reasons to arrest any of them."

"What!?"

"They are not breaking any law." Judy said, more sternly. "I cannot arrest them for being indecent, for even though it is unusual for someone to remove their shirt in the middle of the street, it does not constitute nudity. I cannot arrest them for order disturbance, for they are in a public place, and they are not bothering too many people. I cannot arrest them for performing in the street, for the constitution says that is part of their freedom of expression, a matter of fact, the laws say that I should defend their right to perform, so long as they do not disrespect someone else's rights."

The armadillo looked at her, and the bunny had her arms crossed. "Long story short: they have not broken any law or made anything that constitutes a felony, so I have no reasons or grounds to arrest them on anything."

"So you will just let these low lives walk away?" The armadillo said. "This is an absurd! These mammals are going to start a problem!"

"Why do you think that?" Judy asked.

"Just look at them!" She said, gesturing to the mammals who were getting ready to leave, and who was now looking at her as she made her speech. "The ripped clothing! The dyed fur! I know troublemakers when I see them! These three need to be put behind bars before they start causing trouble!"

Nick lowered his shades to look at the lady, and Judy had a serious look on her face as she looked at the mammal before her.

"So, this is why you want them to be arrested?" Judy asked. "Because they don't look proper? Lady, they have the right to express themselves, a right that is granted to them by law."

"Just leave it, Carrots." Nick said, "I guess that this lady has her point. Let's just go and have some grub before going back to the precinct."

"And _you_ stay out of this!" The armadillo said, rather aggressively.

"Ma'am, do _not_ speak to my partner like that!" Judy said to her. "He is a cop, he is an honest mammal, and he does deserve to be treated with respect!"

The armadillo reeled back a bit from her outburst, but she did not let it go.

"These three are going to cause troubles. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"We are leaving already." The horse said as he put his shirt back. "You don't need to rip out your panties and scream. We are just minding our own business."

"You should be doing something other than walking in the streets!" The armadillo said, pointing at the horse. "You should be studying! Or working! Not going around acting like a clown! These two I can even understand why, but you!?"

The horse looked at her, and so did the two canids that were with him.

"You should have a little more decorum and civility! What kind of respectable mammal dances like a madman in the middle of the street?"

"One that Likes to have fun and doesn't give fudge to what others think." The horse said, with the same calm smile on his face. "After all, you only live once, so you got to make it count, right? Have fun and do the best you can.

The armadillo "Hmphed!" as she looked at the horse with disdain. "These are exactly the kinds of excuses that riffraff says to justify why they keep doing nothing."

"Ma'am." Judy said, "I'll have to ask you to calm down. You seem to be getting too much nervous."

The armadillo ignored Judy and continued to focus her attention to the mammals in there. Who, by the way, seemed to be giving her very little mind. They were just turning around to leave.

"It is mammals like you that become a turmoil to the world! Good for nothing scums."

The three mammals stopped in their tracks. In better words, the horse stopped in his tracks, his ears twitching. The other canines also stopped, but they were staring at the horse. One of them said a curse, while the other had his hands in his mouth.

They looked… scared.

"What did you just said, old lady?" The horse said, his voice neutral, but Nick noticed the change in the attitude of the two other mammals, and he could see that they were backing away from the horse slowly, looking at him as if he was a ticking bomb about to explode.

"That you all are nothing but trouble to society! Or am I wrong?" The woman continued, oblivious to the way that the canines were looking at the horse. The horse didn't turn to her, he still had his back at the lady, and the only movement that was possible to see from him was the twitching of one of his ears, and it almost looked like some sort of nervous tic.

"You called me 'good for nothing'…" the horse said, his voice growing low, and Nick was starting to have a bad feeling. "Didn't you?"

"C-come on now, Percy." The wolf said, and he looked scared. "I-I'm sure that she didn't mean that…"

"Darn I did!" The armadillo said. "After all, the ones like you that keep doing these things, instead of dedicating themselves to something good and productive are only some good for nothing scums!" She said, and the canines both looked at her, completely mortified. "You are just a bunch of lowlifes who don't do anything good or productive! This is so deplorable! Your families must be so ashamed for knowing that you are out doing things like that!"

Judy looked at the woman, she had quite a disgusting look into her face, and Nick looked at her as he saw his suspicions being confirmed. The horse continued with his back turned to her, and his ear twitched even more. The two mammals took a few more steps back, and they looked like they were just expecting a tragedy to happen.

After a few seconds, the horse slowly turned around, and he was looking at the armadillo with a smile on his face. However, Nick could see the strangest look in his eyes, one that gave him a chill running from the back of his neck to the tip of his tail.

"You know, lady, you do remind me of my mother…" The horse said, and he gave a step in her direction.

"P-Percy…" The wolf said. "L-let's not do anything crazy now…." He seemed that he wanted to reason, but the horse was not listening to him.

"Oh, yes…" The horse said, his eyes on the armadillo, who was now becoming quite uncomfortable with the way that he was looking at her. "These things you said… the look you have in your eyes looking at me…" The horse raised his arm, and his hand was turned up, and it was possible to see something glowing in it.

"Percy!" The wolf said, but he was ignored. The glow that had formed in the hand of the horse was more intense now, and it was possible to see that it was some kind of flame. Nick raised an eyebrow as he looked at that, was it some kind of trick?

However, soon, the flame moved out of his hand and started to circle around his arm, and the flame seemed to be changing colors as it moved on his arm. It stopped once more in the palm of his hand, as the horse now held it away from his body.

"The last time I saw her…" the horse said, as the flame in his hand started to grow, it was changing colors as it grew. "She said to me the exact same words that you have just repeated…" The horse said, and the fire in his hand had grown and taken the shape of a heart, one that glowed in a strong, violet flame.

All the mammals who were looking at it were amazed. Including the mammals who were the closest, namely: Nick, Judy, and the armadillo lady, who looked terrified.

"Oh, yes…" The horse said, and he turned to look at the woman. "You do remind me so much of my mother…"

There was a moment of silence when the fire that made out the heart suddenly grew in intensity and changed from the violet to a strong shade of red.

"I HATE MY MOTHER!"


	5. Things We Can Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an unusual encounter, Nick and Judy do their best to move on with their lives and continue to do their job.

Now, Judy could say that she had seen quite a few things ever since she moved into Zootopia. Including maniac sheep and diminutive crime lords. However, she had not quite seen something like what she was seeing in front of her eyes in there.

The horse had a great, flaming heart floating above his hand, and it was hot, for Judy could feel the heat form where she was standing, and so could Nick and the armadillo lady, by the way. The horse was practically fuming, with a maniacal smile on his face as the flaming heart continued to bur on his hand.

The crowd seemed like it was holding its breath, and so were the two canines in the background. As if they were just expecting the unfolding of what was happening.

The horse continued to pant.

And to pant.

Eventually, his breathing starting getting more even, and the smile that he had was calming down, and becoming more like the calm smile from before. Meanwhile, the red flames of the heart started changing color again, and going back to that soft violet coloration.

The horse took one last deep breath, and he looked at the three smaller mammals in front of them, the armadillo woman in particular.

"But, you are not my mother…" The horse said, giving a sympathetic smile. "So, I guess I can give you a little slack." He said, winking.

As one, the crowd and the canines let out their breath.

"So, that being said," the horse spoke, as he looked at the crowd, and said, "It is time for me and my friends to _vanish from the party_! It was great performing to such an amazing crowd! You are the best! We love you, Zootopia! Have a nice day!" With this, the horse winked and snapped his hooved fingers, and the heart immediately collapsed upon itself, causing the violet flames that formed it to convert into smoke, which spread out.

"Wha-"

"Hey!"

"I can't see!"

The smokescreen blinded the three mammals, as it was thick, but it didn't caused troubles breathing at all, having a strong, but not overpowering smell, which somehow like a chemical product.

The cloud lasted for some moments, but soon it was dissipating, and as it did, the horse, wolf and dog were no longer there.

The crowd reacted soon, as the mammals in there all cheered and applauded, as the show had come to an amazing finale.

"Okay… that actually happened." Nick said, as he and Judy both waved their hands in front of their faces to try to clear out what was left of the strange smoke.

"Did you saw that?" Judy said, looking around, trying to catch sight of the three strange mammals, especially of the horse. "Did you saw what that horse did?"

"Yeah, I did." Nick said. "It is the kind of thing that you don't see every day."

"How did he do that?" Judy said, and Nick shrugged, right before he turned his head to the armadillo lady, who was still in the ground, and she had a thousand-yard stare, and Nick could also notice that she was shaking.

"Lady?" The fox cop asked, but there was no answer.

"Lady, you still with us?"

The armadillo blinked, and she looked at the fox, who was looking back at her.

"… huh?"

"Are you alright?" Nick asked, now starting to get genuinely worried.

"I-I… I guess so…" The armadillo said. "I-I just need to… Drink some tea… In my house…" She got up slowly, and started to walk away. Nick had a raised eyebrow at her, and he couldn't help but think:

" _Man, that little number that the horse did scared her real bad._ "

"Where are they?" Judy asked, and Nick looked at his partner, before looking around. These three were nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, the crowd was excited as they talked to each other, mostly about the amazing show that the three guys did, ending with an amazing magic trick. Some of them had been recording it into their phones the whole event, and now they were posting the videos they made. The mammals were walking away, as the show that had brought them together now had ended. Some remained behind as they talked to each other or looked around, as if trying to find a clue of where the mammals had gone. Nick and Judy were among the later ones.

"Mammals don't just disappear like that." Judy said, still looking around.

"Well, I'd say it seems to be turning into a trend." Nick said, "I wonder how much they have rehearsed before they got ready to do that little number of theirs."

The bunny continued to look around, she even came close to the place the horse was in, and she was examining the ground, as if she would do when looking for evidence of a crime. " _He was standing right here… Now, if he moved right after the smokescreen appeared…_ "

"Well, it looks like our job here is done." Nick said, clasping his hands together as he looked at his bunny friend and partner. "What about we drive to the nearest food place and buy ourselves a snack? Maybe even a little bite for our friend of the reception desk?"

Judy looked up at him, and she looked around one more time.

"How did that horse did that?"

"Some alcohol on his fingers? A smoke machine on his pocket? Maybe some of that fire-proof flammable gel on his hand? Who knows? Maybe we can make him talk next time we see him, but you know how these street magicians are with their tricks." Nick said, and he turned around to walk back to their vehicle, and Judy remained in place for a few more moments, looking at the place one last time before she turned around and walked behind her partner.

The thing that the horse did with the flames… Judy had never quite seen anything like that. It had been a trick. Anyone reasonable would assume that it was a trick. It had to be.

Still…

"Dude! On top of all of that the horse is still a magician!" Someone in the crowd said.

"Yeah, that thing of the fire heart and the smoke was awesome!"

"I got it on video!"

"Me too!"

"I'll post it right now!"

As the crowd dispersed and chatted about the "great finale" of the show that the guys had put, they were showing each other the shots they got from it in their cellphones. Pictures and videos were being showed among friends, right before they were uploaded in MuzzleBook accounts and shared with friends and contacts.

Meanwhile, the two cops had gotten into their car and were driving away from the place. All the while, Judy had not stopped thinking on what she had seen back there.

* * *

Upon arriving, Nick and Judy were sure to stop by the "donut office" to give a box of donut to their ample friend.

They found Benjamin with his back turned to the front of the reception desk. The cheetah seemed not to have noticed their approaching.

"Oh my gosh… Oh my gosh…" They could hear him muttering. The fox and bunny sahred a look, before Judy called.

"Huhhh… Clawhauser?"

The cheetah continued to have his back turned, and he seemed as if he had not noticed their approach.

"Clawhauser?" Judy called again. She had the slightly impression that the cheetah was getting hyperactive…

"Ohmygosh. Ohmygosh. Ohmygosh" the cheetah started to mutter, and Judy now had the distinct impression that there was something making him distraught.

"Benjamin!" Judy called as loud as she could. The answer was immediate, as the cheetah let out a surprised squeal as he threw his arms upwards. His phone going into the air, and the cheetah had to throw himself into his desk to grab the device before it hit the ground. Once it was secure into his paws, the big feline now was looking at the two smaller mammals, looking like a kitten caught with the paws in the cookie jar.

Judy and Nick both looked at him, and at the expression on his face.

"Hey, Spots." Nick said, "What, checking on a dating site to see if someone is to your liking?"

"W-what?" Benjamin said, looking at his phone and back at the two mammals. He quickly hid it behind his back. "O-oh! Right! I-I was… I… Huhhh…"

"Hey, relax, I was just messing with you." Nick said, "No need to get that nervous."

"Y-yeah… I know. Sorry. Is just I… I was looking at a video someone tagged me and… I got a little caught up in it." He said, looking at the ground. Nick raised an eyebrow at him, and after a little pause, he asked:

"Clawhauser." The cheetah looked at him. "This video your friend tagged you. Did it made you upset?"

The cheetah looked at him, and he seemed to be about to answer, but he only held that expression for a while, and he looked away from the fox's face, looking not too well."

"Ben…" Judy said. "It was not a video about what happened in Fangtropolis, is it?" There was genuine concern in her voice. Ben had been down for days ever since he saw what happened on live tv. The last thing that he needed was a video that would bring all of these memories back to him.

Clawhauser looked at her, and after a while of what seemed to be silent consideration, he gently shook his head. "No, nothing like that." He said. "It is just… look, is just a silly video, it is nothing you guys should worry about, really." He said, as he took a deep breath and put on a smile on his face, recomposing into his chair. "Just a silly thing that even I should be worrying so much. I'm fine. Ohhhhh, are those for me?" He said, looking at the box of donuts that Nick was carrying with both arms.

Judy was about to press on the subject, but Nick was quick to cut her out.

"Sure are, buddy." Judy looked at the fox, who offered them to the big cheetah. "We were lucky, these were the last one with these colorful sprinkles that you love."

Clawhauser smiled with his paws balled on fists on his checks, and he lunged into the box, snatching it from Nick and taking it to himself.

Judy looked at him, and back at Nick, who was gesturing very subtly at her to drop it. She looked at him for a few moments, and she complied, especially when he saw Benjamin humming happily as he savored these donuts. It was good to see him in the regular happy and bubbly self. To ruin it over some video that she was curious to know about… it just was not worth it.

"Hey, you!" A voice suddenly came. The three mammals turned around to look at who was it. They saw a sheep approaching. This sheep was around five feet tall, with white bulky wool, and with these regular sheep eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt over his wooly body, and brown pants with black tissue belt. The sheep came to them with a sure step as he stood in front of the front desk, and he said:

"I want to see the one who runs this place! Where is the chief's office?"

Nick and Judy shared a look.

Benjamin was about to answer, when Nick cut him.

"And you would be?"

"None of your business, fox!" The sheep said, rather aggressively.

"Ouch. That is quite rude." Nick said, with feigned emotional pain. "And you sheep are known for being such sweet creatures."

"We are also know for head-butting someone who angers us." The sheep said, turning to look at the fox. "So, you would be smart on not getting me angry."

"You realize you are threatening a law officer, right?"

"Enough of that!" The sheep demanded. "I want to see the police chief!" The sheep demanded, and Nick and Judy shared another look, while Clawhauser just looked at them as someone who is quite like left out in the situation.

"Well, if you want so much to see the chief, then I guess we should take you to him, right?" Nick said, and he turned to Clawhauser. "Spots, turn your direct line with the chief and tell him we are taking an angry sheep to see him." He turned to the sheep, and said, "Sir, if you were kind enough to follow us?"

The sheep snorted some nasty answer, and soon he was following both the fox and the rabbit as the cheetah looked at them leave, before he did as the fox had asked him.

One quick elevator trip and a walk in the superior walk and soon they were knocking on Chief Bogo's door. It took only a moment before the big buffalo opened the door, and he did not looked very happy.

"This better be really important." The chief said, looking not only to the sheep, but also to the two officers that had scouted him there.

"You are the one who runs this zoo?" The sheep asked, causing the chief to look at him in surprise. "I have a thing that I want to talk with you about. We have to be quick, I have to go into a _big break house party_ after I'm done here.

The chief looked at him for a few moments, and he said:

"Get in."

Soon, the three mammals walked into the chief's office, as the water buffalo closed the door behind himself, locking it. He turned to look at the sheep, in time to see the mammal reach out around his neck and move his wool aside, stretching his skin up his head, until his whole head was shoved backwards, revealing another head hidden just underneath it. It was the head of a wolf, with dark-brown fur, a white muzzle, a big black snout, and eyes of a teal-blue coloration.

The wolf took a deep, gasping breath, as he opened the buttons of the shirt, opening it to reveal that underneath, instead of wool, he had the same dark-brown fur of his head. "Great Fenrir! This feels good!" The "sheep" said as he was able to free himself a little from the costume he was wearing. "I swear that if I stand underneath the sun too long I'm gonna bake like a pie!"

The three animals looked at the mammal, with the chief being the first to talk:

"Wolfard." He said, nodding at the wolf, who only nodded back at him, as he enjoyed the air conditioner of the chief's office.

"That sheep costume of yours still freaks me out." Nick said as he looked at the panting wolf.

"I'm still amazed at how realistic it looks." Judy said, admiring the costume that the wolf used for his undercover works. She heard that Wolfard had fabricate it himself, and she could only think that the wolf must be extremely skilled to make something so good.

"Yeah, but it gets HOT!" The wolf said, opening two more buttons to let the cold air reach all of his chest fur. "Seriously, I don't know how the sheep stand it all day."

"So…" Bogo said. "I assume you have something."

"Have I ever came back with empty paws?" Wolfard asked, as smile forming on his panting muzzle, as he fondled in the pants of his sheep costume. He pulled out what seemed to be pieces of old paper. "Wilde and Hopps' information was quite accurate. That 'Slimy Tusks' dude might not know how to brush his own tusks, but he is very helpful for interested customers."

The wolf gave the old and dirty papers to the buffalo, who looked at them and saw that they had been worked as if they were tickets. With a bad writing and an even worse grammar. "Tomorrow night. Sahara Square, Pier Nile Mouth, warehouse 12. He even gave me a suggestion on who to bet."

"You positive?"

"The guy was very specific. It was supposed to two days ago, but one of the fighters was not in the mood for fights. Apparently, the guy had family back in Fangtropolis." There was not need to say anything else on the subject.

"He also told me that if I got really close to the cage where they would fight maybe I could get my 'hooves' a lost tooth or two, but I needed to be careful not to get blood on my wool." The wolf added.

"Good… Very good." The chief said, walking back to his desk. He pressed the intercom.

"Clawhauser."

" _Yes, chief?_ "

"When the officers come back from their assignments, tell them that they must go to the meeting room. I'll discuss with them something that will need some personnel."

" _Okie dokie!_ "

"And, Clawhauser?"

" _Yes..?_ "

"I know you have not been well lately." The chief said, in a tune softer than most officers were used to hear from his mouth. "If you think you need a few days off to relax, don't hesitate to say."

The three officers on the room shared looks. Normally, unless you had suffered a death in the family or was so sick that you were actually in the risk of dying, taking a day off to "relax" was a sure way to get yourself fired.

There was a brief silence, before Clawhauser's voice came back from the other side of the radio.

" _Thank sir, but I'm fine, really._ " The cheetah's voice said. " _I'm really, really okay. Thanks for caring_."

There was another silence, before Bogo said.

"Okay, if you say so. Get back to work." The chief said in his usual tune, and he turned to look at the three mammals in the room, who were looking at him as if he had suddenly grown an extra pair of horns.

"The same goes to the three of you!" The chief said. "Get back to your assignments now!"

The three mammals flinched as the chief resumed being his regular loud self. Wolfard soon was buttoning the shirt of his costume again.

"Yeah, gotta go back to being the stereotypical 'wolf in sheep's clothing'?" Nick said to him as he walked to the door. The wolf turned to him, returning the smug smile.

"Yeah. The ' _baked_ wolf into the _very_ _hot_ sheep's clothing'." The wolf said, before he fixed the mask of his costume and opened the door, saying something loudly about how these police guys were all useless.

"That wolf could have been an actor." Nick mentioned. "Seriously, he could easily win an Oxcar."

"And that costume is so good!" Judy said, "Seriously, if he had not talked back down I would not have known it was him!"

"Yeah, the damn thing looks real. I heard he used real wool to make it. Only the eyes that kinda look dead…"

"If the two of you are done musing on Wolfard's ability to create costumes." Chief Bogo's voice snapped at them. "You two need to go back to your desks and continue your work."

"Oh, right! Right away, sir! Let's go Nick!" Judy said, as she rushed to the door. Nick looked like he was going to follow her, but he stopped for a moment.

"Nick, lets go!" Judy said. But Nick remained in place, and he seemed like he was thinking of something.

"Wilde, have you decided to become part of my office's decoration?" Bogo asked. "If you have, at least go stand in a corner, so you will not trip on you when I walk."

There was a brief pause, and Nick turned around and looked at Bogo.

"Hey, Chief?"

"What?" Bogo asked.

"So, say." Nick said to him. "There would be any chance that Hopps and I could be on the team for tomorrow night?"

Bogo looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, we _were_ the ones who found the lead that will make this all possible, right? Technically, this is _our_ case. So maybe we could follow it until the very end." Nick spoke with his usual smirk, and the chief only looked back at the fox, while Judy stood in the door, watching the scene before her.

"Go back to your desks and continue your work." The buffalo said to him. "When the rest of the officers come back, we all will discuss this in the meeting room. Dismissed."

Soon, the two officers were walking out of the chief's office and taking the elevator back to the first floor.

"So, what was that?" Judy asked.

"What was what?"

"You asking that to the chief." Judy said, looking at the fox.

Nick looked back at her. "Oh, you mean, asking him to include the two officers that found the lead into the breaking of the place of the illegal fighting? Well, I just thought that maybe I should at least bring it up. After all, if I remember correctly, you were the one who was anxious for it in the day we first found the clue, ain't I right?"

Judy looked at him, realizing that he had a point. "Well, yes, but…"

"What, are you having second thoughts on this?" Nick asked. "The great Officer Hopps is having second thoughts about going after bad guys and helping make the world a better place for mammals everywhere?"

There was no answer. Nick looked at Judy, and kneeled in front of her as he put a hand in her chin.

"Carrots, listen to me." Nick said. Judy did as he asked, and looked at his face. "We all have been on edge in the past three days. Believe me. You don't need to be extremely perceptive to noticed that a lot of people have not been feeling quite well since… that night."

Yes, Nick was right. Ever since the Darkest Hour, many mammals were not feeling okay. There was sadness. Stress. There were people talking about the subject. Some of the people who saw it through the television, like Nick and Judy had, were pretty shaken by the event. She even heard about some officers who had not come to work for a day or two, and came back looking downtrodden.

"There are cases in which we cannot help others." Nick said, "No matter how hard we want to." For a moment, Judy wondered if Nick was saying that to her or to himself. After a moment, Nick looked back into her eyes, and he continued:

"But there are things that we _can_ do. There are mammals who we _can_ help. This is what we must do, Carrots. We must focus into what we can do now, and give our best in doing it. Going after these guys, stopping a ring of illegal fights in which mammals can potentially kill each other just to pleasure a crazy crowd? That is something that we definitely can do, and we can do it very well."

Judy looked back at him, and Nick smiled at her. "After all, we are two of the top officers of the ZPD, right?"

Judy looked at him, and she saw that same smug smile that she had known for around one and a half year now. However, this time, she also saw something else behind it. She saw a kind smile of a truly caring friend. She felt a warm within her chest, and she could not help but smile at Nick.

"Yeah, I guess you are right." She said, as she and Nick just looked into each other's eyes. Nick looked at these amethyst orbs, while Judy looked at the sea of emerald that were Nick's eyes. They were almost looking hypnotized by each other. However, they could still notice something.

Turning their eyes to the open door of the elevator, they saw a familiar face. It was a wolf wearing the blue ZPD uniform. He was shorter than the average wolf, being 4'5'' feet tall, but he looked to be quite fit. The fur on his body was a grayish-white coloration, with the exception of the insides of his ears, which were dark-grey. His eyes were also dark-grey, almost black, and they were glued in the two smaller mammals. The wolf was shaking slightly, and he had a look of his face that was of barely contained excitement, with a visible giddy smile.

The two mammals looked at the wolf, at each other, and they immediately separated, as if all of sudden being aware of how close together they were. The wolf, however, continued to look at them with that look of giddy happiness.

"Ahem! Officer Fanghanel." Judy said, as she composed herself and looked at the other officer, Eliot Fanghanel. The wolf continued to look at her for a moment, and he somehow managed to compose himself. The look of giddy happiness was replaced by a smirk at the two, much more controlled. However, behind him, his tail continued to wag at a very high speed.

"So… did I interrupted some moment between Zootopia's darlings?" Eliot asked the two, the smug smirk still in his face.

"Nah, it was just some conversation." Nick said dismissively. Eliot nodded, humming an "umm-humm" of someone who knows better. The fox looked at him, and he spoke. "So, white fang, are you going upstairs to the bull's corral?"

"Yup, the chief wanted me to have a word with him." Eliot said, "Something about the little surprise party I made for Pennington last week."

"Oh, yeah." Nick said, remembering the event. "The one in which you came rolling in with a whole band in the bullpen in the middle of the briefing… I still don't know how you got a cake that big through the door."

"Oh, it wasn't easy." Eliot said. "Believe me."

"So, I do believe we got to go back to our assignments." Judy said, and soon she and Nick were moving past Eliot, who walked between them inside the elevator. "Officer Fanghanel." Judy said to the wolf as he went inside.

"Officers." The wolf said, getting inside of the elevator and turning to look at them as they left. The wolf continued to smile at the two going officers as the doors closed. Right after they closed, someone who was close enough could hear the sound of a loud, excited howl coming from the inside.

"Our dear white fang is still as excitable as ever." Nick mentioned casually as they walked.

"I really hope that the chief doesn't fire him." Judy said, "It was already bad enough that he got a week's suspension after that."

"Firing our dear Eliot? Nah, buffalo butt wouldn't go that far." Nick said, "The guy is almost as good as making this place more friendly as me or Benji. It would become a lot more boring if he left, and the chief knows that."

Nick had a point in there. Ever since day one it was clear that Eliot was what many would call "a nut case". He was prone to making crazy comments, many of which seemed to have little to no base, and he was also famous for jumping to conclusions. Still, many enjoyed his attitude, for he was positive and funny, and he often made the place brighter by being in it, even if sometimes he didn't quite heard to others, and tended to ignore common notions of personal space. Eliot was fun to have around, and many in Precinct 1 enjoyed his company, even if he was a bit annoying at times.

Not to mention that there were a few occurrences around the precinct regarding Eliot that one could almost classify as stalking…

"He seemed really happy, didn't he?" Judy said casually, and Nick nodded.

"Yeah, he sure did."

"What do you think got him so happy?"

"Oh, trust me, Carrots." Nick said, remembering a few of the commentaries that he had heard Eliot making about him and certain bunny cop, and also what he heard white fang and Benjamin speaking about some kind pool going on about "WH". "You really don't want to know…"

* * *

The day went on rather uneventful.

Judy and Nick continued with their desk duty. Meanwhile, the officers came back from their respective assignments as the day went on, and each one of them got the message from Benjamin about the meeting at the bullpen at the end of the day to discuss the matter of importance.

Granted, by the end of the day, most of the officers of Precinct 1 were gathered into the bull pen, from the biggest to the smallest. And we are not referring only to Judy and Nick.

Ever since Judy's, and half a year later Nick's, graduation in the academy and their joining in the ZPD, there was an influx of smaller mammals attempting to join the police. Not all of them graduated, of course, but some did, and some of them were good enough to join in the Precinct one.

These smaller mammals were able to gather many in a single one of the biggest chairs, and along with their much bigger brothers in blue, they were waiting for the chief to come.

Once he entered, it was the traditional thing, and once the commotion died down, the Chief Bogo looked around the place, at each officer in there, big and small.

"Officers." He said. "You are probably wondering why I have gathered all of you here." He spoke, and before Fanghanel could make some inconsistent commentary, or Wilde could wisecrack, the cape buffalo said: "I did, because today an undercover officer has brought about an important lead on the case of the illegal ring fights."

A murmur came from the officers. Bogo continued.

"So, for those who _still_ don't know, recently, Zootopia has faced a problem that seems to have come from some of our neighbor cities: mammals who gather in abandoned places to see two fighters use their claws, teeth or antlers against each other." The buffalo said, looking at his subordinates. "They have come to our knowledge after a video from a phone was leaked, showing one of these fights. Now, I would show this video to you, but it is quite brutal, and I don't want some of you to go back to your homes without appetite for dinner."

"So, we have known of these fights for the past month, however, it is very likely that they have been going on for longer than that. Naturally, since this kind of event is greatly against the law, we, as upholders of the laws, have the duty to stop it. Not to mention that the City Council got personally disturbed by the level of violence in these fights, and they have put us to stop them before someone gets kill."

"So, some of ours best officers have been set into finding information on these fights, but it proved to be quite difficult, since they seemed to make it sure that the information regarding the fights would be restricted. Some say it was even amazing that the video leaked and we got the wise of the fights, in first place."

"However, a few days ago we seemed to have a certain stroke of luck, as Officers Wilde and Hopps found out a piece of information regarding the fights."

"Happy to serve, chief!" Nick said, making a salute, and Judy could only smile as she stood by his side on their chair.

"This information" Bogo continued, choosing to ignore Wilde and focus on what was important, "Has allowed us to reach a very solid lead. Not only we have the full knowledge of the place and date of the next fight, but we also have some info on the 'professionals' who are going to fight."

"The first one is a bison who goes by the name 'Jason Killer Hooves'. Real name: Jason Bisantin. He was quite a name in the professional fighting circles. Three years ago, his wife left him and placed a restraining order on him for domestic violence, and after that he got caught more than once for drunk driving. He was finally banished from the professional cycles for having become too violent, as in his last fight he beat his opponent so much that the guy went in a coma. He is strong and we assume that he is very violent."

"The second fighter is a lion named Mateo Fera. He has quite a history, which includes a lot of citations in his early days, including for order disturbance and aggression. After he completed 18, he also got caught a lot of times for possession and use of catnip, he is a known addicted. He is said to be violent and prone to using claws and teeth in any fight he gets into, be it in the street or with a law officer. He is not native to Zootopia…" The buffalo made a small pause, and continued: "He was born and raised in the city of Fangtropolis, having moved here last year. However, his brother still lived in the city…"

Bogo didn't continued, there was no need. Everyone knew what that implied, and the heavy looks in the face of many officers was easily noticed. The buffalo decided that it was better to continue.

"Fera can be considered as violent as Bisantin, if not more. Not only that and the fact that he is a known addicted, but there is also the fact that he is famous for hate crimes against prey. Yes, he is a predator supremacist, and he will by fighting against a prey, you all can easily see where this is going to go."

"This fight will happen tomorrow night, and we have the chance to catch the ones behind this event and shut it down for good. For that, I'll going to assembly a team of mammals to proceed. And _this_ is why you are all here."

The chief stood there as he looked at the many officers in there, and he said:

"I would like to tell you that I already have a few names that I'm going to call into this mission. However, I'd like to know if someone else would like to volunteer for this, or offer your names. Be aware, this will be a mission of importance, and it will be dangerous."

There was a certain silence in the room. However, there were some officers who did rose their paws and hooves as they were wanting to take part on it. Bogo knew that not all of them would be part of it, but he knew that some of them were qualified, and that some of them would insist to be present in this, for one reason or another.

Well, it seemed that the meeting was going to take a while.

A good number of the smaller officers wanted to take part in the busting. Some of them probably wanted to prove themselves, just like Hopps had done. Still, Bogo knew that some of them just weren't suited for the job, either for their inexperience or for various other reasons. Still, Bogo ended up selecting some of them for this mission, like a meerkat named Meerkovitz, he was rather new, and he had got very good grades in the academy, especially in the terms of his aim when firing a dart gun, he was happy by being a transit guard, but he would be very good in this mission.

Among the officers were Wilde and Hopps. Their great deal of experience and the rather important cases that they cracked in their relatively little time in the force made them more than qualified for this busting. It was something that Hopps surely seemed thankful for.

Among the bigger animals were Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato and Wolfard. After this was decided, as well as a brief discussing of what the officers would be doing in this busting, they were all dismissed.

Soon, Judy and Nick were both heading out of the station, both still in their uniforms, as they caught the train that would lead them to the central station, where they would go their separate ways back to their respective homes.

Nick was sitting next to the bunny, who seemed to be lost in thought. However, the way that her foot was tapping in the ground was an indicator that Nick could not ignore.

"So, already anxious for tomorrow?" He asked, and the bunny looked up at him, and she was actually able to smile back.

"Guess so. Well, it is something important, right?" She said, "We don't have these kinds of operations every day. So… yeah, I'm kind of anxious."

"Like the super carrot cop that I know." Nick said, and he added, "Good to see you being yourself again."

Judy looked at him, and she smiled softly. "Yeah, the whole Fangtopolis thing took a number in me."

"On all of us, Carrots."

There was a brief silence, and Judy spoke.

"Well, I guess you and Bogo both are right. There is nothing I can do about it…" Judy said, sounding a bit distant as she said that. "Sometimes there are occasions in which we just can't help others… no matter how much we want to."

A heavy silent hung in the air, as Nick knew that there was no proper answer to something like that.

"… But, there are occasions in which we _can_ help others." Judy completed the thought, looking back into at the fox. "In these occasions, we gotta give our best, and focus all of our efforts." She was smiling again. It was not a half or sad smile, it was one of the strong and confident smiles that Nick was used to seeing in her face. "It is in these moments that you really must do your job and do the best you can to help others and make the world a better place."

Nick smiled back at her, his usual smug smirk, and he said, "Oh, yeah, I was wondering when I was going to listen to another one of your speeches about 'making the world a better place'. My dear idealistic bunny."

Judy looked at him rather annoyed, but with a smile in her face. "You teasing fox."

"You know you love me." Nick said.

"Do you know that?" Judy said, and thought for a few moments, "Yes. Yes I do." She spoke, and this ended that little altercation that they had. It was just one of the many times that they have these kinds of talks, they were a sign that things were normal and fine, and that they had one now, was a sign that the mood surely had improved since that morning.

Nick couldn't help but feel satisfied that Judy was recovering her usual self. It was assign that things were going back to normal. As Nick relaxed, he catch something in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he was able to see a butterfly. It had blue wings and it flapped them as it flew clumsily between the mammals.

"Hey, look at that." Nick said, and Judy soon was looking and seeing the butterfly as well.

"How did it got in the subway?"

"Maybe it just fluttered its way in?" Nick suggested, as he butterfly continued to flap its way among the mammals, who seemed not to notice it. "Seriously, you'd be surprised. I even saw pigeons walk inside of the trains."

The butterfly fluttered in between the mammals, and soon it was making its way in direction to the bench the two mammals were sitting into. It flapped its wings as it fluttered in front of them, circling their heads slightly.

"Hey!" Nick said, and Judy giggled a little bit.

"It is pretty." The bunny said.

The butterfly fluttered around them, before it landed in Nick's shoulder, and remained in there.

"I think it liked you." Judy said, and Nick looked curiously at the butterfly that was on his shoulder, seemed to have found a place where it liked to stay. Soon after, the train was stopping, as the voice announced which station they were in.

"Oh, look, it is our stop!" Judy said, and soon Nick and Judy both were getting out of their train. The butterfly was still steady on Nick's shoulder.

"Guess you made a new friend, Nick." Judy said, looking at the butterfly still on the fox's shoulder.

"Well, I _am_ quite amicable. Also, you know how they say that bugs love sweet things, right?" Nick said, flexing his eyebrows at the bunny, and Judy could only chuckle at the fox. Soon the two friends were saying farewell to each other as they went their separate ways. Judy went to get another train, while Nick now was walking in direction to the exit.

It was night, and there was a lot less mammals in the street, and the ones that passed seemed to give Nick little mind. Still, the fox was sure that he was still an unusual sight, being a fox in a police uniform. The butterfly nested on his shoulder surely seemed to add a little more to his interesting figure, Nick was sure.

"You really liked me, didn't you?" Nick asked the butterfly, and he was pretty sure that some would think he was crazy for talking with an insect.

The bug continued on his shoulder for all of the way he was making to his home. Including when he passed by a spot that he particularly didn't liked. It was an empty, large street that was very close to a big iron fence. This fence seemed to be dividing what seemed to be a gated community. There was a great banner on the other side of said fence, it showed cartoonish predators and a big saying: " ** _HAPPYTOWN, PEACE THROUGH UNDERSTANDING_** ". The banner was as old and wear down as the rest of whatever was inside of "Happytown", from the abandoned buildings to the old benches and trashcans.

Nick couldn't help but shiver as he had to look at that place on his way home. It always gave him shivers. And apparently, it was not just him. The butterfly on his shoulder was flapping its wings a bit more. It was still steady in his shoulder, but it almost seemed to be distraught.

"Don't like that place?" Nick asked, as he quickened his pace. "Me neither."

Nick felt relieved as he left that iron fence behind, not even bothering to look behind to give a last evil glare at it, as he simply wanted to get home.

A while more of walking, and Nick was arriving at an old building. It was a bit worn down by time, but it still looked nice. Walking in, Nick gave a quick "hello" at the llama who watched the main gate, and soon he was walking up the stairs and into his apartment.

The building could be a little old, but the apartment was not bad in the slightest. It was nicely sized, and it had good furniture. Nick had been a scammer of great success for a while before he changed professions. He was able to gather a good deal of money from unsuspecting mammals, enough for him to be able to live comfortably. His apartment had a big couch, some fancy chairs, and even a big screen television. All of that bought with hustling money!

It was something that Nick would not say proudly to his new friends at the police, of course, but he would be lying if he said he didn't felt quite proud of himself for having made enough money to have a home like this. He still had some saved…

Sighing, Nick let himself rest. As he loosened his tie, and he was on the way across unbuttoning his shirt, as he looked to see the butterfly still steady on his shoulder.

He stared at it for a few moments, and said: "Ooookay… Look, it is not that I don't like having you around… actually, I'm glad that you came home with me, but I really would like some 'me time' now." As Nick spoke, he moved his paw at the butterfly, and it climbed into his finger. Nick walked to the window and opened it, "You should go your way, you know, look for some garden, butterfly things. Okay? Now shoo!" Nick said, and waved his hand, making the butterfly take fly out of it.

Nick closed the window, and he sighed.

"I'm really making friends with insects now… I need to get out more." He said as he removed his shirt and was now going in direction to the bathroom, to take a good hot shower.

As Nick mused, the butterfly continued to fly just outside of his window. After a while, it fluttered away.

After moving a couple several meters from Nick's window, the butterfly started to glow. As it did, it looked as it was crumbling away in dots of light, as the wings cracked like crystal. In seconds, the butterfly had completely broken down in dots of light, which disappeared in the air.

* * *

Judy had a calm and smooth travel back home. Of course, considering that the train she was taking had considerably more mammals than the last one, she had to resort to hold onto someone's tail, due to her small stature, this also meant that, in some cases, she was right at butt level. This was one of the disadvantages of being a short mammal, but still, the ride home was rather smooth.

She was easily able to get out of the train and take the stairs to go back to her home. It was just a short walk from that point. The streets were rather empty at that time, but still, Judy felt secure enough to walk back to her home.

After all, it was not like someone who try something with someone like her.

However, as she walked, she felt a shiver run up her spine, and her nose started to twitch. She knew that feeling, the feeling that there was someone watching her. Judy looked to the sides, as she tried to point out the location of the one who was watching her.

Some mammals in there. A deer crossing the street. A raccoon turning the corner.

But none of them looked like they had their eyes on her.

Judy blinked, and she slowly turned back around, and continued to walk.

However, her nose was still twitching. She still had this feeling in the back of her head that there was someone watching her. Following her. Looking at her every move.

Judy starting walking faster. The feeling was still there. A feeling of nervousness. A feeling of being followed, almost stalked.

Judy quickened her pace a bit more. The feeling persisted.

Soon Judy was practically scampering into the street, drawing a few looks of the mammals that were on the street. Judy continued to scamper until she had sight of her home. The building Grand Pangolin Arms.

Judy bounded to there, and she practically made an Olympic jump as she covered the stairs all in one go. She opened the door as quickly as she could, got inside, and practically slammed the door closed, startling the landlady, who was going down with a nightgown, and who almost jumped back as the bunny came in jumps.

"M-Miss Hopps?" Dharma Armadillo said to the bunny, who was panting as she had come inside. "Hopps? Are you okay?"

Judy took a few moments to answer, as she took a deep breath. The feeling that had over her on the street was now dissipating. Her nose finally was stopping twitching, as now she felt that no one was watching her anymore.

She finally was able to gather her thoughts, and she looked at the landlady, who looked at her with worry. Judy gave her an excuse, that she wanted to get home because she was tired and wanted to rest. It took a while of convincing, but the armadillo accepted her justification, and Judy soon was climbing the steps in direction to her apartment.

Judy was a cop. She prided herself as strong and independent, so she was not about to admit that she had bolted inside the house because she had the feeling that someone was following her and that got her scared. Besides, she felt much safer now that she was at home. She felt calm and in control, and what had just happened was just something that was quick and was over now.

The last thing she needed now was for others to see her as some paranoid, easily spoken bunny, confirming much of the stereotypes that she was working so hard in breaking.

As she approached her apartment, she was able to hear the familiar voices of the Oryx-Antlersons, on yet another of their squabbles.

"Why do you need to practice this meditation thing, anyway!?" Pronk's voice came

"Because the site says that they will help increase my inner peace and make my life better!" Bucky answered. "And it is not meditation! Is a series of mental exercises based on old exoteric traditions!"

"Oh, it is meditation! We already go to the Mystic Springs! Why do you need to meditate at home!?"

"Maybe because I want to try and improve myself and better my life!"

"You want to improve yourself!? Than quit looking at these self-help trash online and try to learn something more useful! Like how to fix radios! Ours has been broken since before we moved in!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, _you_ shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

Judy rolled her eyes, and she unlocked the door. She said as loud as she could:

"Hey boys!"

"Hey, Hopps!" Pronk's voice answered.

"How was work today?"

"Oh, just nice." Judy said across the wall. "Pretty slow, but Nick and I were called on some order disturbance that turned out to be just some animals performing in the street!"

She unbuttoned her vest and removed it. "There was a wolf playing guitar and a dog doing remix! And there was also a horse dancing! At the end, the horse did something kind a strange… he created flames from his hooves and made a smoke screen."

"Wait! You mean, that video I got tagged in today? That of the 'presentation at downtown'? In which the end the horse makes a heart of flames and then turns it into a cloud of smoke?"

"Yeah! The very same!" Judy said, stopping in midway as she was unbuttoning her pants, and the answer came right after.

"So you and the fox saw it! Was it cool? Because it did looked cool from my cellphone. A friend of mine was there and he recorded the whole thing in video! He posted it on ZooTube and tagged me on MuzzleBook! It was really cool!"

"Yeah, it was cool! We got it! Give it a break!"

"What? I'm not allowed to like something?"

"Yeah, but you don't need to keep repeating how cool it is every two minutes!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, _you_ shut up!"

Judy just smiled and rolled her eyes. She removed her clothes completely, and she changed into something more comfortable. She downed some nice shirt and a pair of slack pants. Now, she rummaged through the fridge in look for the plate she had left ready for herself earlier. Some nice salad with broccoli and some pasta.

Humming as Bucky and Pronk continued their arguing (something that she had already quite got used to) she made her way to the microwave and put the plate inside. Soon she pressed the button, and as the food was getting heated, she walked back to the fridge of get herself some orange juice.

All of sudden, she felt a shiver running down her spine.

A familiar feeling came to her as her nose started to twitch.

There it was again.

That feeling of being watched.

Judy looked around in reflex, trying to pin point where it was coming from. However, she soon was reprimanding herself.

 _Oh, come on Judith!_ She said in her own head. _Now you are feeling like there is a stalker in your own apartment!? That is too paranoid even by bunny standards! Just take a deep breath and relax! This is your home. You are safe here. Besides, there is even no one around to be watching…_

"Hey, that bird is there again!"

Bucky's voice broke Judy out of her thinking.

"Bird!? What Bird?"

"That bird that I told you about a few days ago! That weird-looking crow! It is just there outside the window again!"

Judy blinked, and she looked at her own window.

There was something outside, she could see it.

Judy blinked, and she approached the window, to take a better look. She was able to see something perking in the electric cables, before the black creature flapped its wings and flew away with a loud cawing sound.

Judy almost jumped back when she saw it, her nose twitching madly.

"It just flew away!"

"It was probably just some bird!"

"It was strange!"

"What do you mean by strange? It is a crow! It is not like there aren't crows around!"

"That crow is strange! It comes here every few days and just keeps perched in that line looking at the building! It is creepy!"

"What, the crow is spying on the building now?"

"I'm telling you it is strange!"

"Not as strange as a guy who thinks that birds are spying in mammals!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

They continued at this, and Judy was in there. Still feeling a bit shaken from what had just happened. The sound of the microwave indicating that her food was ready snapped her out of the strange thoughts, and she was able to shake it away as just a bird perched in the powerlines. Nothing too out of normal in there.

But still…

As Judy went for her meal, and her crazy neighbors continued their bickering, the black bird flew away from the building, moving high and away from the streets of the city. It glided silently across the night sky, practically invisible against it with its own black feathers.

After a while, the crow was going down again. Closer and closer to the ground, as it approached the hoof of a certain building. As it landed, a figure came from the shadows and approached the crow.

The crow perked in there, and looked at the figure as it approached.

The crow cawed, as the figure came close, and gently reached a furred paw to pet on the head of the crow…

* * *

**Another chapter.**

**For those who doesn't know, Eliot Fanghanel is not my character, it is the OC of Koraru-san**


	6. Special Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day come for busting the illegal fighting rings, and all mammals in the mission get ready.

Bogo had a very good deal of experience during his time as chief of police. Many times he had to supervise a busting into a criminal organization. From local drug dealers to one occasion when he helped the FBI with a mammal-trafficking ring. He had some experience with these things, and he knew how to assemble a good team.

Of course, he would love to have more time to plan these kinds of things, but time was a luxury that you can't always have.

These illegal fights were too violent to be ignored, and who knew when they would have another chance to bust these? They needed to act fast.

As soon as the day came, and after the briefing of the assignments for the day, all of the mammals who had been assigned to the job in the previous night had gathered into the bull-pen to discuss the details on the busting that they would make on that same night.

"There will be four teams." Bogo said to the gathered officers. "First team will be formed by Delgato, McHorn, myself and Fangmeyer." He said, looking at the lion, rhino, and tiger who all nodded back at him. "We will cover the front entrance, with the high-caliber tranquilizer rifles and we'll make sure to get the ones who are inside."

His eyes already turned to the other animals in the room. "Second team will be formed by Hopps, Fanghanel, Rhinowitz, and Catano. You will be covering the back exit, and be sure to apprehend anyone who tries to leave by the back, we need to make sure that the ones who are present will not leave, especially the mammals who are organizing these events."

Judy and Elliot both nodded, as well as the female cheetah and the rhino near them. Bogo continued.

"The third team will deal with intelligence and surveillance, and it will be formed by Meerkovitz, Gatz, and Felidin. You will be around the warehouse in strategical points armed with dart rifles, and you will dart those who try to sneak out, and you will also cover the two main teams as we do the busting. Think you can do that?"

"Count on us, Chief." Meerkovitz said, as he stood by the side of the other two officers, a domestic angora cat, and a tall leopard.

Bogo nodded, and he returned to the planning. "Finally, the last team will be on the inside. It will be composed by Wolfard and Wilde." He looked at the two officers, the timber wolf, and the sly fox. "You will be on the inside of the warehouse undercover and you will be monitoring the thing from inside and be reporting back at us so we can coordinate the bust."

"So, I guess we can see our dear Wolfard back into his freakishly realistic sheep costume again, right?" Nick added, and there was a brief chuckling in the room before Bogo continued.

"Attention, attention! All of you!" There was a silence in the room, as everyone looked at the cape buffalo. "This is a high-profile case, and while it might not be the first busting many of you are making, it might be the first you have to make into a very short notice. It might be dangerous, and we are not sure what we are going to be facing. We need to focus and plan this right because I'm not going to lose officers because of a failure in planning!" The buffalo said, and it was enough to stop any future jokes or snide remarks, as they continued to plan.

The briefing went for most of the morning and a part of the afternoon, as the codes to be used on radio, the precise approach to the warehouse, and everything else was planned in advance. All that was left was to prepare the equipment and to get ready for the "main event of the night", as Wilde had put it.

Speaking of Wilde, he was currently in the locker rooms, and he was dressing out of his police uniform. After all, tonight he was going to go into an undercover operation, and he needed to be a common fox, not a cop. Unlike his "dancing partner for the night", Nick would not be needing some fancy and very elaborate costume or disguise, he just needed to be out of his cop clothes.

Nick was somewhat famous as Zootopia's first fox cop, but still, he discovered soon that he didn't need disguises when he was going undercover. Many mammals still don't really believe that a fox can be a cop, and it wasn't a few times in which Nick got his uniform mistaken by a costume The idea of a fox becoming a cop was considered against common sense, and so, most mammals didn't think that the fox before them could be an undercover cop. It just was ludicrous to some.

Nick was quick to learn how to use that in his favor. Of course, this would not be effective against the ones who already knew him and knew that his change of professions was for real. These guys would not be fooled, and Nick hoped he would not see any of them on there tonight.

As the fox changed from clothes, another mammal was next to him, using the lower locker that was right on the side of his own. It was Meerkovitz. The meerkat was 1'8'' foot tall, shorter than Judy, and he was quite slender. The fur on his body was of a sand-like brown coloration, with black stripes on his back and on his arms and legs (Nick could see because he was changing clothes as well), with a black snout and a pair of brown eyes. Nick could see that the meerkat looked somewhat nervous, by the way that he was moving, and the look in his eyes. Nick looked at him for a few moments, before saying:

"Yoh, Watcher."

The meerkat almost jumped into a fighting position, looking surprised at the much bigger fox. Nick looked back at him. "Dude, some hours until the mission actually starts, and you are already all edgy?"

Meerkovitz looked at him for a few moments, before he sighed and relaxed.

"Yeah… kind of…"

"So... nervous?" Nick asked as he continued to fumble on his own locker, looking for a change of civilian clothes, the meerkat soon was following suit, but looking for something else.

"Yeah… kind of… actually, more like… _freaked out_." The smaller predator admitted, and Nick looked at him. "I mean, up until now, I have only worked as a traffic guard. I'm good at it, and I was actually satisfied doing that. This is my first time taking part in something that big. I'm really nervous I'll blow it."

"Try not to think about it too much." Nick said.

"I have to think of it!" the meerkat answered. "I'll be on official sentry duty! I'll be covering everyone! What if some guy sneaks out of my sight? What if someone sneaks on another officer and I miss it, and someone ends up in the hospital because I didn't do my job right? Oh, Great Savannahs, what if my finger slips and I end up darting one of the guys by mistake?"

"Hey, hey, hey." Nick said, "Calm down. Deep breaths."

The meerkat did as Nick told him, taking deep breaths, as he tried to calm himself down. Nick helped him a little bit, and after a few moments, the meerkat seemed to have calmed down.

"Just relax, dude." Nick said to him, "Bogo picked you among the officers himself, and he wouldn't have made that if he thought you'd screw this up. You did had good grades in your classes, right?"

"Yeah…" The smaller mammal said, "I had very good scores on my classes, especially on the shooting practices."

"And you are worried that you will miss a shot?" Nick asked.

"I never actually used a weapon in service." The meerkat admitted. "And, I kind of hoped I never would have to. I don't really like guns, even the dart ones."

"Yeah, many mammals don't." Nick admitted. Lethal guns had gone through a lot of legislation in the past decades. Nowadays, only the police, the national organizations and the military are allowed to have them, and even the police and national security prefer to use the non-lethal guns in favor of the lethal ones if they can help it (even though some conspiracy-theorists out there seemed to think otherwise). Many mammals out there actually started campaigns to abolish lethal guns completely, while others were protesting for them to come back in circulation for everyone. Nick was among the ones who were fine with things the way they were, he still didn't had to use a lethal gun in his one-and-a-half year time in the force, and he hoped to keep it for a while longer before he had to, even though he knew that, as a cop, sooner or later he would _have_ to use lethal force.

This situation did not involve lethal force, but it still involved dart guns and danger, and that was a responsibility for itself. It was clearly leaving the meerkat nervous.

Nick looked at him for a while, and he said:

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Nick said, and the meerkat continued to look down. "I mean, you will basically have to be a sentry for this, and you surely are not made for that."

"Yeah, I… wait, what?" The meerkat said, looking up at the fox, his ears perking.

"Yeah, I mean, this thing of being a sentry is something that some mammals are not made for." Nick continued, and the meerkat now was looking at him.

"Not made… I am a meerkat!" Meerkovitz said. Like a meerkat, being a sentry was part of his culture and nature.

"Yeah, you are." Nick said, "But just like some wolves are worse sniffers than others, I guess some meerkats are worse sentries than others."

"Worse…" the smaller mammal said, and his eyes were narrowing as he looked at the fox, who continued talking.

"Yeah, I guess you must not be a good sentry. You should go to the Chief and tell him that you're a meerkat who was just not made to be a sentry and that maybe he should put one of the rhinos in your place."

"Wha- You… You!" Meerkovitz was almost fuming now, and he looked at the fox who looked down at him with that smug smile. "I am Jeremy Meerkovitz! My father is Julien Meerkovitz! He won the title of Great Sentry in our hometown twelve years in a row! I won it three times after he retired and before I moved to Zootopia!" The small animal's voice was becoming louder. "I am a good sentry!"

"So, you saying you would do a good job as our sentry for tonight's mission?"

"Of course I can be a good sentry for tonight's mission!" The meerkat nearly shouted, and that did attract a few looks from some animals around. Nick only continued to smile at him, a smug, but friendly smile.

"Then you have no reason to be so worried about messing this up, right?"

The meerkat looked at the fox and blinked. He was a bit confused and took a few moments to notice what had happened. What the fox had done.

"Y-you…" the meerkat looked at him, and the fox only continued to smile at him as he finished dressing. Nick was wearing a purple t-shirt with brown social pants.

"See ya tonight, Watcher." Nick said as he started to walk away, and Meerkovitz was still a bit dumbfounded at what had just happened. He could only look at the fox as he walked away, and slowly, a smile formed in the smaller animal's muzzle.

He had just seen that some of the rumors he had heard about Wilde were the truth. And they were only good things that he heard about the tod.

* * *

Judy was with Catano in the female locker room. The female cheetah stood on 5'4'' feet tall, easily towering over the much smaller bunny. Her body is slender and graceful as one expects from a cheetah's. The fur on her body was of a light yellow, with a softer shade on her muzzle and down her neck and chest, with black spots all over herself. Her eyes were colored like honey. She currently was wearing only shorts and a ZPD tank top, just like Judy, as they were changing from their regular clothing to something that would be more fitting for the night. They both wore protective vests during the day, however, tonight they were changing to a more heavy vest, which was able to better block bullets. It was a protective measure, in case someone who was in there would be armed. Also, they would be wearing darker clothes, to help them blend better and remain unseen during the mission, in which they would approach subtly.

"I have always wanted to use one of these, you know?" The big cheetah said to the smaller mammal by her side. Judy looked up at her as she held the uniform of a darker, almost black shade of blue. "These dark colors really make my eyes pop. Too bad I'm gonna be pointing my dart gun at others, and they won't have time to actually see me before I dart them unconscious."

"Yeah, I guess so." Judy said. "I bet you look really good in this."

"Just wait until you see me." Catano said. "I'll look like a dashing nightwalker."

Judy chuckled, and someone near said:

"Yeah, I bet you do."

Elise Fangmeyer came to them. The tigress was big and strong, standing on 8'7'' feet tall, with a strong and muscular built. Judy had to admit, with a certain shame, when she first arrived at the ZPD, she thought that Fangmeyer was a male. The tigress was colored like any other tiger, with orange fur and black stripes, and white muzzle and down her neck and chest. Her eyes are on a dark-gold coloration, and they have some eyeshadow, something that accentuated her feminine nature. She was wearing the same as the other two, black sports shorts and ZPD tank top, and they made it clear that she was rather flat on the chest, much like the other girls.

"So, both of you ready to bust some illegal business?" The tigress asked the two girls. "Because I am more than ready."

"I'm ready." Catano said, and they both looked at Judy. The bunny looked to be thinking about something.

"What? Is the great Judy Hopps is nervous?" One of the girls asked, and this caused Judy to look up at them.

"What? No! I mean… yes… kinda. But, not because of me." Judy admitted. The two felines shared a look, and they seemed to know what this was about.

"You are worried about your partner, right?" Catano asked, and Judy nodded.

"Yeah… I mean, I know that Nick can take care of himself. I know that he has been undercover a few times already… But, he still is my partner and my friend. I worry that something might happen to him if something goes wrong." The bunny admitted.

"Well, it is perfectly normal." Fangmeyer said, "After all, all missions have a danger element, especially if you are undercover." There was no point in sugar-coating the truth, and she also knew that it would not be nice to do that with her fellow officer. "Still, Wilde has proven many times that he is one hell of a sly fox. I can't count the number of times that I heard that he talked his way out of some situation."

"That tod can sure take care of himself. He is smart. He proved he is good at dealing with others, and he is already considered one of the best officers of First Pricy after he has been here for just one year." Catano said to the smaller animal. "Besides, you must know better than anyone how good he is since he is your partner."

Judy looked up at them, and she had to admit that they both had a point. Ever since he joined the ZPD, Nick proved time and time again how much of a good cop he was. Even before that, he graduated in the academy with top grades of his class, just like she did before him. Nick had street smarts, he had the cunning, he knew how to think outside of the box, he was very good at dealing with others, and he knew very well how to take care of himself.

"Yeah, I guess you two are right." She admitted to them, causing them to smile back at her, and soon, they were back to getting dressed, Judy as well, trying to reassure herself based in all that was just said.

Still, Judy could not help but be worried about the safety of the mammal who was so close to her, and who would be walking inside a place that would be full of potentially dangerous individuals. The very thought of Nick getting seriously injured, or worse, was just something that she didn't like to think about, even though she knew that, in their line of job, it was a very real possibility.

Judy soon was suited up along with the other two females. Dark clothing, including a heavy body-armor that was reserved for elite missions. Complete with the special, high-reach dart guns, with darts filled with a very strong tranquilizer that would probably bring down anyone who was hit, from a mouse to an elephant. The tranquilizer was of a burn rate equivalent to metabolism, as well, so it was safe to use in animals of any size.

Soon, they were ready, and some of the animals were gathered, as the last details of the mission were discussed among them.

"So, you two go ahead and enter the building as if you were just two of these mammals who enjoy seeing this kind of thing." Bogo said to Nick and Wolfard. Nick was wearing the same civilian clothing that he wore in the lockerooms. Wolfard was on his sheep costume, the head pulled out, leaving his real wolf head on the outside. "You both had communicators hidden on your ears and on the lapel of your shirts, keep us in touch of all that happens in there, including the number of mammals inside and if any of them have heavy weapons. The last thing we need is to be surprised when doing this."

"You can count on us, Chief." Nick said to the boss with his usual sly smile, and the buffalo only nodded back at him.

"I really hope so." The buffalo said, "Mayor Amur has tasked me personally into seeing that these illegal fights would end, and she was insistent that should be no casualties. I don't want to let her down." with that said, Bogo was walking away, leaving behind some of his officers. Nick was about to get into the car with Wolfard when something grabbed his wrist.

He looked over to see his bunny partner, looking back at him with her amethyst eyes. "You be careful, okay?"

Nick looked at her for a few moments, and he smiled at her, smug as always, and he said, "Don't worry Carrots. I'm a top officer of the ZPD, former master scammer, and also if you didn't noticed…" Nick pulled the sleeve of his shirt and showed some muscle on his arm. "I'm not as pencil-necked as I was one year-and-a-half ago, courtesy of all the exercise."

Judy looked at him, seeing his confident attitude reassured her, and she smiled back at him. Her gaze then turned to Wolfard, who was half-way into closing his costume, and he looked back at the purple eyes of the bunny. "And you, make sure to cover my partner."

The wolf nodded, and Nick, who was seeing that, turned his gaze to the wolf and cheetah that were near. "The same goes for you two. Take good care of my partner."

"Count on us." Officer Catano said.

"Don't worry, Nick, we won't let your missus get hurt." Officer Fanghanel said, winking at Nick in what seemed a conspiratory way when he said "missus". This granted all the mammals in there to look at him.

"…okay." Nick said, and he started to climb into the car. "See you later, Carrots. We'll go to our favorite bar to celebrate when this is over."

Judy looked at him, as she was snap out of the strange situation that Fanghanel's words created, and she was able to smile back at him, and she said, "We sure will."

With that, Nick closed the door, and soon they were driving away.

Judy remained in place, seeing as the car drove, wishing that she could follow them to be sure that they would arrive in there okay. She felt a paw landing in her shoulder, and she looked up to see Catano over her, with a reassuring smile.

"We gotta get our weapons ready." She said simply. She didn't say anything else, and actually, there was no need to say anything else in this situation. Judy looked up at her and nodded, and soon, she was moving ahead, with the two bigger mammals following her from behind.

"So… did you really needed to say that back then?" Catano whispered to Fanghanel, who was right by her side. The wolf looked at her a bit confused, and she said. "The 'missus' thing?"

"What?" Fanghanel said to her, still not quite getting it. "I was just reassuring Nick that we would take care of his bunny. That is what friends do for another friend, right?" He was speaking as if it was something common and obvious. "Besides, I want to make sure that they will call _me_ to be the best mammal in their wedding." He added the last part with a smile and his tail wagging.

Catano only looked at him, before rolling her eyes and just saying nothing more.

* * *

Making busts was complicated.

Going undercover was complicated.

Nick knew all of that from his experience in the force. From what they taught him in the Academy, from the stories he heard from his fellow officers and from his own personal experiences as a cop. Now, they were going to be undercover cops during a busting operation, so, it was only natural to think that the level of complication would reach another high.

They were to go in there as two mammals who enjoyed seeing two guys killing each other, and to be in the middle of the crowd of many other blood-thirsty mammals while they watched the two crazy dudes kill each other in a ring. That was just dandy.

The goal was to be in there to give important information to the rest of the team when the time came, and for that, they needed to make sure that no one in there would even suspect that they were cops, because otherwise, the whole operation would be at risk. Not to mention that something really bad could happen to them both…

So, as part of this, they had to go in without anything that would give away their identity. Not only that, but they could not be seen arriving with anyone who was a cop, or with any police car, hence why they were going ahead of everyone, in an old and run-down car with an awful beige color. So they could arrive in there ahead of the time and to give the tickets so they could get in and blend in the crowd. That was essential to their operation, and both Nick and Wolfard knew that well, and they knew that screwing up was not an option. Nick really wanted to celebrate with his partner in their favorite bar, instead of spending the days in the hospital recovering from being step on by some thug.

It took them some time, but they did arrive at the location. Zootopia was a coastal city, and as so, it was only natural for it to have ports. Sahara Square, in particular, had some of the most famous ports of the city, and others not so famous. Pier Nile Mouth was one of these coastal ports, a pier (as you probably guessed) that used to serve as a place for storing material that came from the nearby port, in one of the many warehouses that were in there. However, the company that used the warehouses went bankrupt, and as a result, the place was abandoned.

However, someone found a way to make it not be so abandoned anymore. Places like that were very attractive to these who wanted them for "less noble activities", as the illegal fighting ring seemed to.

They were already moving close to the pier, and the warehouses were visible. They parked into the street, and as they got out of the car, Nick checked on his watch.

19:23

"We are kinda early, aren't we?" Nick asked the "sheep" as he locked the doors and activated the alarm of the car.

"The fight will only start around 20:00, or at least that is what the ticket said."

"We need to secure the perimeter from the inside." Wolfard said, the freakishly realistic sheep jaw moving per his own jaw in the inside of the costume. "Besides, Slimy Tusks himself told me to be here early, before everyone would come crowding the place. Apparently, there is some kind of 'special theme' for tonight's fight."

Nick stopped and looked at him. That was a piece of information that had not been shared earlier. "What kind of 'theme'?"

The "sheep" shrugged. "Cage fight? Fighting in the mud? I don't know, I didn't ask that."

"Dude, you should have asked!" Nick said to him, "And you should also have told us about this 'special theme' earlier!"

The disguised mammal stopped and thought a little bit. "You think?"

"Yes, I think." Nick said, a little exasperated. He stopped for a moment, and he had a look of horror on his face. "Oh no…"

"Huh, what, what was it?" Wolfard said, now getting really worried about that, even more with the look in the fox's face. Nick rose his head, still looking horrified, and he said:

"I just spoke like the Chief…"

You could not see through the sheep mask, but Wolfard blinked as he looked at the fox, and he was now fighting the urge to slap his own face.

* * *

"They must be there now, right?" McHorn asked Bogo, and the buffalo just looked at his watch, seeing the time.

"Yeah, most likely." The buffalo said, and he turned to the other animals around him, all gathered, geared and armed. All of them were ready for the action, and all of them were competent, or so Bogo believed them to be.

"Okay, we will be parting in fifteen minutes, if anyone has a question or a commentary to make, now is the time." Bogo looked at each present officer, and he saw looks of determination in each one of them. These were the looks of confident officers, who were ready to uphold their duty and their oath of serve and protect. From the biggest rhino to the small meerkat holding the surprisingly big snipper riffle.

Just by looking at them, Bogo knew:

They were all ready.

* * *

The fox and "sheep" were walking across the Pier Nile Mouth, and they were passing by the warehouses, each one was rather big, once they used to serve to store containers coming from ships.

"When we get there, remember." Wolfard said. "I am Ezekiel Wooliver and you are Jake Russet."

Nick grimaced just a little bit. "A fox named 'Russet', now that is quite cliché."

As they passed by the warehouse that had a big 11 painted on the side, they were not seeing another warehouse that had the number 12 in it. In front of it, leaning against the metal door as he was just minding his own business, smoking a cigarette, was a burly rhino. He stood on nearly nine feet tall, with a body that showed that he went to the gym nearly every day. Hs was wearing a heavy undercoat, but it still didn't hide his muscled frame. The skin on his head was of a dull grey coloration, and his horn was broken. His yellow eyes were focused on the newspaper that he was reading, and he seemed to be just another guy going around and doing nothing. That was how he was supposed to look to anyone who saw him, but those who knew that something was going on that warehouse that night would know better.

As it was the case of the two animals coming.

"Hey, dude." Wolfard said, making the rhino lazily look up from his newspaper to him. He straightened himself just a little bit and looked at him before he realized the fox coming by his side. "We are here for the event." The disguised wolf said, pulling out the tickets and handling them to the rhino. The animal looked at the tickets, them at the rhino. The next moment, the rhino's eyes focused on the fox.

For a moment, both Wolfard and Nick held their breath. _"Oh crap, does he knows Nick?"_

After a few moments, the rhino started to stretch his neck, as if to see above the sheep's shoulders. Wolfard even looked above his shoulder, as if to look at what the rhino was looking for.

"So, you coming in with the fox?" The rhino finally asked, causing the "sheep" to look back at him.

"What, do you owned him a favor, or something?"

Relief came over the two animals, as it seems that the rhino just had assumed that it was strange for a fox and a sheep to come to a place together.

"Well, I kind of own this fox some favors." The disguised mammal said, and it was not really a lie, "But other than that, Jake here is a good friend of mine. I invited him to come to watch it with me."

The rhino looked at him for a few moments.

"You _invited_ him to come with you? Seriously?" the rhino said.

"Yes, I did. We are good friends. Why?" the wolf disguised as a sheep said, "Do you have a problem with this?"

The rhino shrugged. "Well, _I_ don't have a problem, but the guys who will be inside tonight..."

The two mammals shared a look among themselves, as neither of them quite liked the way that the rhino had said that.

"W-what do you mean by that?" The disguised wolf said, and the rhino looked back at the sheep face that was the mask Wolfard used.

"You know that tonight's fight has a theme, right?"

"What does this have to do with it?" The "sheep" asked. The rhino looked back at him for a few moments, before he reached out and took the two tickets from his "hooves".

"Enjoy the fight, you two." He said, starting to open the door at the gate. "And a word of advice: if you two want to leave this place whole, you better not go saying to the others that you two are friends. They might not like it."

The two mammals once more shared a look, and they walked inside, as the rhino soon was closing the door behind them. The inside of the warehouse was somewhat what you would expect: run down and broken at some points, with rusted walls, and run-down paint on the walls. The place was big: enough for them to put something inside that looked like an actual fighting ring, surrounded by a big metal cage. However, the place was not as bad as one would expect from an abandoned place, as it seemed that the same mammals who put the fighting ring in there decided to clean up the place to make it more presentable. Two stands were put in place to serve food, each one at opposite ends of the warehouse, and both of them with some tables for mammals to stop and eat. However, the two animals noticed, as soon as they come in, that it seemed that the place had been divided in two, for not only the food stands were on opposite sides of the warehouse, but it seemed that someone had put a makeshift barbed-wire fence between the two sides. The fence did not go over the ring, but they divided the place where the audience was supposed to stay.

The two animals looked at this as they walked inside.

"An interesting interior… I would like to know their decorator." Nick said, and soon, someone came to see them. It was a big grizzly bear, standing on 8'4'' feet tall, with a stocky body. The fur on his body was of a deep brown coloration. He was wearing some clothing that was nice for a night in town, with a nice black shirt and a pair of long jeans pants. He looked like he was ready for a party in a friend's party, not some illegal fight to the death in an abandoned warehouse. His hazelnut eyes focused on the two animals as they came in.

"Welcome, my friends." He said, "I'm Kyle, and I'm one of the organizers of these events. Good to see the two new faces in here." He said, in a rather bright way, and the two animals shared a look at the sympathetic bear before Wolfard spoke:

"Huhhh, okay? I'm Ezekiel, nice to meet you. I have to say, you do make a good job here."

The bear blinked and looked at him. For a moment, Wolfard thought that he had said something wrong. He had just tried to be as friendly as possible, but it seemed that he had said something that the bear either didn't liked or didn't expected.

"T-this is my friend Jake." The disguised mammal said, gesturing to the fox. "He got really interested when I told him about the fights, so I bought him tickets for us to watch it together."

The bear blinked again, looking between the fox and sheep. "Your friend… I see…" The bear said slowly, and for a moment the two animals were apprehensive that they had raised suspicion, but they relaxed as soon as the bear opened another friendly smile. "Well, it is always good to see some new faces around here. Well, we have snacks on view, popcorn, and also bathrooms in the back of the warehouse." He said with a smile, and then he gestured. "You can go there. You, my smaller friend, will go on that side." He said, gesturing to the left for Wolfard and right for Nick.

"What, we can't stay on the same side?" Nick asked, and the bear shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. Not tonight, at least."

The two mammals were not really expecting this. If they got separated, it would become harder to cover each other's backs.

"You sure? I mean, we are great friends and all." Wolfard said, "Maybe we could just be together in a corner…"

"It is for both your safeties." The bear cut him, insisting. "Believe me, you don't want to be together on the same side tonight." The way the bear said made the two animals somewhat worried, and they shared a look. Soon, they both were complying with the bear, with the disguised wolf going to one side, while Nick was guided to the other.

Nick was getting increasingly worried about what was happening in there. It was not because now he was actually in the place where the criminal action was going to happen, that was hardly something new to him. It was also not only because he and Wolfard were now being separated, what would make the mission somewhat more difficult, as they would have problems to keep on touch or even to see each other, what could make difficult for them to support each other in the case of something went wrong. The main reason why Nick was getting so worried right now, was because with all that was happening now, the strange looks of the animals that had received them, the wired fence in the middle of the warehouse separating the two sides, and the way that he and the other animal had been separated like that…

All of that was giving him a certain clue of what was the "theme" of tonight's fight.

And it made him severely nervous.

* * *

Judy and the rest of the ZPD had split up into three black vans without windows and without anything that would give away that they were from the ZPD. After all, they had to arrive there without raising suspicions.

Judy was on the back of her own van, with both Catano and Fanghanel, as Rhinowitz was driving the van, and the three animals remained mostly in silence during the way. Well, save for Fanghanel.

"Do you guys believe that this is the first time I'm doing a busting?" The wolf said, sounding somewhat excited. "Do you think they will be armed? I mean, I hope they are not armed, but they might be, in this case, we must be really careful. But still, this is so cool! I mean, scary, obviously, but so cool! I can't wait to go back home and tell Pumpkin about this!"

"You have been talking non-stop ever since we left the Precinct." Catano said, looking at the wolf. "First, you need to focus, and second, you cannot tell someone about this because it would compromise the case."

"Oh, I know, Kii." The wolf said, referring to Catano by her first name. "But still, this is my first busting! And I cannot keep secrets from my Pumpkin! I tell her about everything that goes to the police station! It makes her worried when I do dangerous things, but she also gets so happy when I tell her about some perp we caught!"

"Eliot!" Kii said, "You cannot go telling your wife about everything! It compromises investigations!"

"I know, I know!" Eliot Fanghanel said apologetically, "But I cannot help it, she is my Pumpkin, the love of my life, I cannot keep secrets from her!"

Judy looked at the two of them, and she decided to intervene.

"Okay, okay, you two!" She said, calling the attention of the two bigger animals. "We are about to go on a mission, and we need to focus to do our work right." She turned to the cheetah first. "Kii, you are one of the best shooters of the ZPD, and you are specialized in catching someone who is running away, tonight, you need to make sure that we get as much of these dangerous animals as possible." The cheetah looked at her and nodded. Judy turned her head at the wolf. "Eliot, tonight you are to cover both of us, you will give us support and make sure that we are not in danger."

"Got it!" Eliot said, making a salute. "I'm gonna keep the promise I made for Nick! I'll protect the one mammal that he cares about the most in the world!"

Judy looked at him for a few moments, hoping that the blush forming on her ears was not visible. She then said, "Also, I know that you love your wife and that you want to share everything in your life with her, but this is an ongoing investigation, and sharing too much information with her could jeopardize it, so just for now you will have to keep from sharing this with her. Got it?"

Eliot deflated slightly when he heard that. "Oh… okay." He seemed down for a few moments, before saying. "But as soon as the investigation is finished I'm going to share everything with her!" He said excitedly once again, "She will be so happy for knowing that I have helped bring down some dangerous guys and make the city safer for her! I bet this will make her smile! Her smile is so pretty! I have a picture of her on my phone where she is smiling, have I showed you?"

"Yes, Eliot, you have." Judy said, "You have shown pretty much everyone in Precinct one a picture of your wife." She said, remembering when, just on his first day in the force, Eliot practically interrupted the Chief's distribution of assignments to show every one of his wife, a female thylacine named Chloe, "Pumpkin", as Eliot called her.

"I really hope that you and Nick come to visit us sometime!" Eliot said, "I just can't wait to introduce you to Chloe, I bet you two would be the best of friends!"

Before Judy or Kii could answer, the radios on their helmets buzzed, and the voice of Chief Bogo came into their ears.

" _Attention, all teams, this is Alpha 1, we will be arriving at Pier Nile Mouth shortly. Be ready._ "

That was all that was said before the radio buzzed out, and that was all that was needed to be said, as Judy started to check her weapon for the last time.

"You heard the Chief, be ready," Judy said, and the two predators also checked on their equipment.

"I don't get why _they_ are Alpha 1." Eliot said, "I mean, their team won't have any wolf…"

* * *

Nick found himself sitting in the tables near the food stand. "Tables" was actually a way of speaking, since they varied from plastic chairs and tables to some crates that were organized to work as tables. The food there was cheap, but Nick only ordered a coffee. If you could call that cheap sludge, worse than the one that they served in First Pricy, of coffee. But Nick has already had far worse in his life.

As Nick sat in there, sipping from the plastic cup where they gave him that coffee, as he kept his eyes around.

It had been fifteen minutes since they arrived, and while the first five were very quiet, with only a few mammals here and there, soon that changed as more mammals appeared into the place.

Nick would occasionally look at the "entrance" to see more mammals arriving in intervals, all of them being received by Kyle, and while some were very friendly to him, certain other mammals were quite aggressive. Still, all of them were received with a friendly smile, and they were directed by a specific side of the warehouse.

Nick looked around to see the animals that were on his side. He could see wolves, leopards, some foxes like himself, a few weasels, two hyenas in a corner. Nick's suspicions were getting stronger, and he was not liking it at all. Normally the fox liked the feeling of being right, but this was one of the reasons where he truly hopes he was wrong, because if what he was thinking of the theme of tonight's fright was…

Something buzzed.

Nick flinched slightly, but luckily no one noticed, and the ones who did it didn't pay him any attention. Suddenly after the buzzing, he heard a familiar voice.

" _Alpha 1 to Orange and Apple. Do you copy?_ " The familiar voice came through the radio, and Nick smiled to himself.

The fox took the lapel of his shirt, taking it to as close to his muzzle as possible, and he pressed a hidden button that had in it before he whispered. "This is Apple. Apple here. Do you copy, Alpha 1?"

Apple, red just like his fur. It was Nick's idea, and he had thrown it in the reunion as a joke, and he was rather surprised when the Chief accepted it.

"We are doing this all in a hurry, so we will go with this. You are the one who will have this nickname, so I don't care." Was the buffalo's answer.

Soon, the same voice who said that earlier that day, was speaking in Nick's ear: " _Alpha 1 here, Apple. Is Orange with you?_ "

"We got separated as soon as we came in, they divided the warehouse into two sides and they send some mammals to one side and some to another." Nick said as he looked around.

" _Orange, here is Alpha 1, do you copy?"_ Chief Bogo called again, and after two seconds, Wolfard's voice was coming through the radio.

" _I get why_ he _is 'Apple', but why on Zootopia am I 'Orange'?_ "

"Because we need to keep on the fruit theme, to avoid calling attention." Nick said casually, as he took another sip of his coffee, doing his best to see natural in that closed environment. Two nearby weasels were not arguing about one of them trying to steal from the other's pocket.

" _Okay, next undercover operation, I choose the codenames._ " Wolfard said, and Bogo's voice soon cut it.

" _Apple, Orange, stop it now! Focus on the mission, and nothing more._ "

" _Yes, Alpha 1, sorry._ "

"Okie Dokie, turning on the serious station." Nick said, and he knew that others understood that it means that he would be serious from now on. Soon, the Chief's voice came again through the radio.

" _So, do you have visual on the place? Can you tell the number of individuals?_ "

Nick looked around at this, and after a quick mental count, he said to his lapel. "I see around forty animals on my side."

" _On this side, there are over sixty._ " Wolfard said.

"So, it is a party for around a hundred. Not too small." Nick said, trying his best to look natural to anyone who was looking, not wanting to have to explain to anyone why he was talking to his lapel.

" _Are they hostile?_ " The chief asked through the radio.

"Some of them are fighting." Nick said, looking at the two weasels that now were rolling into the ground, trying to claw and bite at each other. "But, not more than the actual crowd that gathers before a sports event. Seriously, I've seen worse in the baseball games."

" _Yeah, the guys in this end don't seem particularly aggressive, despite them all being a bunch of speciest pricks._ " Wolfard said.

Nick tensed just a little bit when he heard that.

" _Understood. You two hold tight in there. Keep an eye and inform us of any change on what is going on in there. Alpha 1 out._ "

Nick heard as the Chief buzzed out of the station, and after a few moments, he picked his radio again, but this time, he talked only with Wolfard.

"Hey, Orange, you there, buddy?"

" _Yeah, Apple, I'm here, and just wait until we are together on the next undercover mission to see what codename I'll give you._ "

"The guys on your end are really speciest?" Nick asked, and he heard the mammal on the other side scoff.

" _Apple, you should hear the things they say, especially about wolves. Seriously, there was a guy who came here and said that wolves are dumb mutts who lick themselves and rump their own sisters. I almost ripped out my mask and said a few things to him._ "

Nick felt the tension on his body growing somewhat.

"Orange, the animals on your side, what species are them?"

" _What?_ "

"What species are them?" Nick insisted, "What animals are they, what mammals?"

" _Oh, umm, let me see… I see some rhinos, some bulls, there is a lot of sheep… some antelopes and other animals with horns … I see a few bunnies here and there. Two zebras just passed by my table…_ "

"Any predators?" Nick asked. "Do you see anyone on your side who is not a prey?"

There was a silence on the line as the disguised animal seemed to be evaluated to answer the question. After a few seconds, " _No, not really… I think they sent only prey to this side._ "

That was an answer that Nick was dreading to hear, for it only added more and more base to his suspicion. Wolfard was a wolf, but he was disguised in a sheep costume that could easily fool anyone, he was disguised as a prey. On the side he had been sent to, there was only prey.

Nick looked around, looking at the animals on the side to which he had been sent. He saw wolves, weasels, foxes, hyenas, big cats… Not a single animal that had horns, hooves, or flat teeth.

On Nick's side, there was not even a single prey. Only predators.

* * *

"Alpha 1 here," Bogo said, as he walked forward, and the rest of the team were following him from close. They were sneaking over the warehouse 11, and they almost had a sight of warehouse 12. Bogo was in the front, so he could see the rhino in the front of the warehouse, still smoking and readying form a newspaper.

"We have visual on the target, there is a rhino on the front, can't tell if he is armed." Bogo said, as the rhino looked on his watch, and continued to read the newspaper.

* * *

On the other side, approaching by the opposite end, the team formed by a bunny, a cheetah, a rhino and a wolf was approaching warehouse 12. Judy was the one who spoke. "This is Alpha 2, we have visual on the warehouse."

As they approached, they kept on the shadows, and they had sight of the back entrance of the warehouse. It pretty much like the front and was guarded by a burly elephant, who was looking around, looking for any signs of trouble, as he was using his trunk to pick fruit from a nearby basket and taking it to his mouth.

"I see an elephant in front of the gate, can't tell if he is armed." Judy said as the team remained on the shadows, and they were ready for action if there was the need.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the roof of the surrounding warehouses and buildings, there were some animals taking position.

Felidin, the leopard, was on the roof of a warehouse. Gatz, the domestic cat, had climbed on the top of a post and was now sitting in it. Meanwhile, Meerkovitz was on the top of an old, abandoned crane. All of these animals had special equipment, including special sniper dart guns.

Meerkovitz looked around, seeing the other two members of his specific team around, and they made silent gestures to him, and he gestured back. Right after, he was seeing on his radio: "This is Alpha 3, we are in position and we have visual."

The animals were not with their eyes into the visors of their sniper weapons, and they were keeping their sights into the warehouse and the surroundings. Meerkovitz, in particular, was able to sight both teams, as he had a very privileged position, being able to see Alpha 1 in the front and Alpha 2 in the back. Both of them approaching the warehouse, and both of them counting on him to keep watch to warm from danger.

" _Okay then._ " Meerkovitz said, as he mentally steeled himself. " _Time for sentry duty._ "

* * *

"Roger that." Bogo said on his radio. "Everyone stay put and stand by. We wait for the right moment to act." The buffalo spoke.

In order to make a successful bust, they need to catch all of them in the act. Bogo lost count of how many times he heard of busts that went down the drain because the lawyers of a perp were able to suggest that the cops had arrived in the place where nothing wrong was supposed to happen.

Whoever was doing that illegal fight, could very well suggest that it was merely a reunion, or maybe some clandestine bar or something of the like. They needed to be able to catch them in the act. Unfortunately, that means only acting after the fight has begun and those perps were screaming at the fighters to rip out each other's guts. It was necessary if they wanted to be sure to get these criminals to be prosecuted and serve as an example to anyone who could even think of something similar.

So, now they stood there. All three teams in position covering the warehouse. Two officers were undercover inside the place. It was now a matter of waiting.

They waited.

Waited.

Waited…

Minutes seemed to drag for an eternity, even more when they were so much in the edge.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen.

Thirty…

Some more animals appeared during that period, showing the tickets to the rhino before being allowed entrance. However, what the teams had been waiting, the signal from the inside that would allow them to go into the place and catch the criminals in the act didn't come.

Bogo was so tense that he felt like he had an elephant sitting on each shoulder. He dared to take his eye from the warehouse ns look at his watch. It was a quarter to nine p.m.

Where the hell was the signal?

His radio buzzed, and Bogo could hear a voice on the other end. " _Alpha 1, any signal from the inside?_ " Asked Hopps' voice.

"Negative." Bogo said from his own end, and another voice came, this one was Gatz' " _Guess they are taking their time, right?_ "

" _Shouldn't the fight have started forty-five minutes ago?_ " Fanghanel's voice came, and Bogo was forced to agree with the wolf.

Of course, nothing would always be punctual, but three-quarters of an hour?

Bogo changed the line that he was using, and now used one of the two officers on the inside.

"Apple. Orange. What is going on in there? We haven't received the signal yet. Did something went wrong?"

There was a second or two of silence, and it was Wilde's voice that answered.

" _Oh, you know, Alpha 1, you know how these events sometime run late. Once I went to a show, and the singer arrived two hours late._ " His voice had the same unworried tune of always. But it let out a slight tune of boredom. " _I'm in the middle of drinking my third bad coffee, and I have been counting the stains on the ground_ _and trying to figure out what they were to pass my time… The other guys in here… well, they are also not very happy that the fight is late._ "

* * *

That much was truth. Nick had been hearing a while of the animals in there that they were all impatient for the fight.

"Why is it late?"

"When it will start?"

"Come on, I came here to see a fight!"

"Think they are gonna cancel it?"

"If they do I want my money back!"

"No fight!? What a bummer!"

"I was so looking forward to someone put those grazers in their place!"

Nick's ears perked.

"Yeah, agreed!"

"They are so arrogant all of the time, saying that they outnumber us!"

"About time someone put these grazers in their place!"

"If the fight doesn't happen, we can do it ourselves!"

Nick felt his stomach tightening, what he just hear among the commentaries of the animals around him seemed to be the last thing that was missing for him to be convinced that what he thought was true.

Reaching out for the hidden radio in his lapel, Nick said: "Guys, we might have _serious_ a problem."

" _Hm? What? What happened?_ " Wolfard's voice came.

" _What do you mean? Apple, do you have a situation?_ " Bogo's voice came, and Nick looked around, being sure that no one would be able to see him talking to the hidden radio. Luckily, all of the animals seemed to be more focused on the fact that the spectacle that they came to see was late.

"I think I just figure out what is the theme of tonight's fight." Nick said, and he quickly added, "Which _you_ should have asked about, you dumb wolf!"

" _Hey!_ "

" _Theme? What are you talking about?_ " The Chief's voice came from the other end, and Wolfard seemed to have become a little awkward.

" _Oh, ummm, you see, when I bought the tickets, Slimy Tusks said that tonight's fight had a theme to it._ "

" _You upheld information?_ " Bogo said, and even though Nick could not see his face, he had the feeling that it had a "not-amused" expression.

" _H-hey, it was just some kind of theme that he said the fight would have. I-it was not like it was that important._ "

"It was." Nick said firmly in his communicator. And I just figured out what it is." He spoke.

" _Really? What it is?_ " Wolfard asked.

"Think about it." Nick said, and he started to remember the things that happened since they came in. "When we appeared in the front, a 'sheep' and a fox, and told people we were friends, they looked strange of us. Then, they sent the 'sheep' to one side, and the fox into another. Little detail: the two sides are separated by a wired fence."

" _Wired fence? Are you serious?_ " The voice of the Chief came across the radio.

"Deadly serious, Chief." Nick said, and he continued: "Not only that, but the side to which the 'sheep' was sent is a side that has only prey, while the side to which the fox was sent now is filled only with predators."

" _… well, maybe they just are separating them based on their diets?_ " Wolfard said, and Nick fought the urge to smack his paw on his forehead. Deciding that it was better to ignore it, he continued.

"Also, as you have said it, my dear disguised friend, all the prey on your side, or at least most of them, seen to be speciest."

" _Is that correct, Orange?_ "

" _Ummm, yes, sir._ "

"So are some of the guys from my side, by what I heard then saying." Nick said, looking around. "Actually, not only speciest, I would say that some of them are downright supremacists."

There was a pregnant pause, before Nick heard the Chief's voice:

" _Darn it…_ "

" _What? What? What happened?_ " Wolfard said, and Nick sighed, as the wolf seemed to be clueless, even with all that the fox had just spoken to him about the situation.

However, before Nick had time to try to clarify the situation for the dim mammal, a loud and booming voice called his attention.

"Attention, everyone!"

Nick's eyes, along with the eyes of all of the crowd, turned to the ring that was settled in the middle of the warehouse. Standing right in the center, was a swine, and he looked to everyone as he spoke.

"We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience of the delay. We had some unpredicted problems, but it has all been solved now."

"It better be!" Someone from the crowd shouted, and there were many cries of the agreement to this voice, and the pig soon was calling for the crowd to calm down.

"I totally understand your frustration." The porcine said, after the crowd has calmed down enough. "However, I assure you that the problems have all been solved and that the fight will start soon. Meanwhile, I'd like to welcome all of you who have come here to prestige this moment and to watch this special event."

"I just came to see some grazer be gutted!" Someone on Nick's side said, and many predators agreed.

"No way, the lion is the one getting gutted! About time someone stood up and put you chompers on your place!" Someone from the other side said, and many animals seemed to agree with that. In the next moment, it seemed that both sides were shouting profanities at each other, and Nick had the feeling that the barbed-wire fence was the only thing that actually kept them apart.

"Everyone! Everyone!" The porcine said, and it took nearly a minute to calm everyone down enough for his voice to be heard. "We need to be civil in here… however, I guess I can understand your attitude… To a point."

The porcine said, looking around at the many animals into the place, before he resumed speaking:

"After all, this is not just a mere fight that we are having tonight… it is a battle for supremacy."

The crowd now remained in silence as the pig spoke. "It is a battle to determine it predators are truly the ones who remain in the top of the food chain, or if the prey can bring them down from their thrones." The pig spoke, and the crowd seemed to be getting more riled up as he spoke.

"Tonight, we will have two fighters: one representing the prey, and the other representing the predators, and these two will fight among themselves. Each one a champion of their people, and the victory of one, will mean the victory of his whole kind! Tonight, we finally settle the war between predator and prey through a one-on-one fight to the death!"

The crowd cheered at the pig's words, and Nick felt a creeping feeling of getting up from his seat and getting the hell out of that place. All the while, he repeated to himself again a thing that he had been repeating for himself now and then for quite a while since they got into that warehouse:

Wolfard _REALLY_ should have asked what was the theme…

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Eliot Fanghanel and his wife Chloe belong to Koraru-san, while Mayor Amur belongs to TheHook1, both from DeviantArt.**


	7. Unexpected Develoments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are not uite going as planned, as unexpected things happen inside the warehouse. Including Nick meeting with familiar faces...
> 
> Once more, Eliot Fanghanel is an OC that belongs to Koraru-san, from DeviantArt.
> 
> Also, I'm planning to do more of this, adding Zootopian versions of famous quotes in the chapters. Hope you guys actually like it. I'm not even sure why…l maybe just because I feel like doing it ^^

_No mammal is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected._

**_~Juleo Caesar~_ **

* * *

Prejudice is part of society.

There is no denying it. There is no escaping it.

It is something ugly to look at, and it is something that many want to see disappear for good, but it is something that was built over many generations and that ingrained itself in society so deeply that one cannot just remove it as if it is a piece of decoration.

Prejudice ingrains itself in society and creates roots to burrow itself in place, feeding on itself, feeding on fear and ignorance, on anger and resentment. It can be fought, of course, but it is so deep in the heart of mortals that it is just not possible to get rid of it completely.

Zootopia had been build having tolerance as its base. It was a place where all species could live together in harmony, as equals, calling each other friend. A place where the prey would live without ever having to fear being hunted, and where the predators would be able to live without having to hunt. A place where they would stand as equals in the world and discover that deep down they were not that different and that they could live in peace together, side by side.

However, to hope for prejudice to just vanish was never a realistic goal. It still existed in the society of the animals that came to live in Zootopia. It was an ugly feeling that was carried from eons of mistrust and fear, and that would not stop showing its head because of the many speeches of peace and understanding.

Hate crimes were occurrences that were not as rare as most people would like them to be. With stories of mammals who got beaten up when they were coming home from work being heard now and then, only because someone else didn't quite like them because of their species. Most of these crimes were of prey against a predator, for once the prey was in a much greater number, therefore having more representatives in society, while the predators were a considerable minority.

However, that didn't mean that the hate crimes against prey were nonexistent. There were still stories out there of predators who used their size and their nature as hunters to oppress and intimidate the prey, who were (presumably) weaker and more helpless.

There were predator supremacists, just like there were prey supremacists, the only difference being the frequency they got on the news, due to the difference in numbers in their rankings.

Still, prejudice was prejudice, and it was a part of society.

Nick had his fair experience with prejudice. Being not only a predator but a fox, a kind of predator who faced a lot of stigmas, even from other predators. He had been looked down, screamed at, insulted, even spat on in one occasion or another. Nick knew that prejudice was part of the world and that it was something that was common to both predator and prey. He had seen both kinds before, even in the same place at once.

Like in that present moment…

"About time you chompers got put in your place!"

"Oh, go chew on grass, grazer!"

The two sides, separated by the wired fence, were throwing insults at each other. On one side, the prey supremacists, calling the predators "chompers" (a derogatory term that came from decades ago, coming from the fact that predators "chomped" at others), all of them saying that they should be collared and put back into the ghettos. On the other, were the predator supremacists, being smaller in numbers, but just as ferocious, as they told the "grazers" (another derogatory term that came from the prey, the herbivores "grazing" for food) that they should recognize their place in the bottom of the food chain.

Each side had their own opinions, formed by pre-conceived notions that they probably learned from their own families, or that they developed into their own. Anyway, it was prejudice, maybe born from mere enmity, maybe born from fear, maybe born from righteous indignation (Nick thought it could be the case of some of the predators), but it was all prejudice. It was inflamed, and it was something that perfectly reflected in the theme of tonight's fight:

"Prey vs Predator, the battle for supremacy."

Nick already knew that this bust going undercover was not going to be easy, but now that he knew that the place was filled with two different supremacist mobs, the thing had escalated into another level.

Nick was worried about what would happen if any of these guys found out that he was a cop. Supremacists like that usually were involved with other kinds of illegal stuff, and they were many times criminals by default, meaning they truly disliked cops.

However, Nick's greatest worry at the moment was Wolfard. The wolf was wearing a disguise of sheep, and due to this, he was sent to the side of the prey supremacists. He was in the middle of dozens of hostile prey who was very clear that hated predators with all that they had. If any of them discovered that Wolfard was not only a cop but a disguised wolf… Nick had a small shudder as he thought of what they could do to the poor bastard.

' _Doesn't change the fact that this is his fault._ ' Nick thought as he was still mad at the wolf for not telling them that the fight of tonight had a "theme". He really thought that this piece of information was not important? Was he not even a little bit curious over the "theme" to ask the guy about it?

If they both go out of there in one piece, Nick was going to smack that dumb wolf on the back of his head.

A buzzing on his head snapped him out of his thoughts, and Wolfard's voice came through the earpiece he was using:

" _Uhhh, guys? We might… have a little situation here._ "

"You think?" Nick asked sarcastically in the phone hidden in the lapel of his shirt.

" _Apple, Orange, what is your status?_ " Bogo's voice came from the communicator, and Nick was prompt to answer:

"You nothing big, just realizing we are in the middle of a fight to 'decide the supremacy between predator and prey', with the audience for the fight being two mobs, one of predator supremacists and the other of prey supremacists. You know, the usual."

Nick could hear a curse coming from the other side of the communicator, and soon, Wolfard's voice came again:

" _Do we need to abort the mission?_ "

"What, you scared, Orange?" Nick said, playfully.

" _We are not aborting anything._ " Bogo said, " _We_ need _to stop these illegal fights_ tonight _. This is not up to discussion._ " The voice of the cape buffalo left no space for complaint or negotiation. " _You both keep where you are, take care of what you do and say, and tell us the exact moment when we start this. And, Orange…_ " There was a brief pause, in which Nick could imagine the glaring of the bull on the other end of the line. " _…When this is over, we will have a talk about how to treat information in the future_."

Nick could swear that he distinctly hear the wolf in sheep disguise on the other end swallow a lump, before saying a quick "yes sir", and then the line went silent. Nick looked around, and the crowd around him seemed to be becoming more and more aggressive, as they were still throwing insults at the ones on the other side of the barbed-wire fence.

Well, to be fair, not all of them were aggressive, as some of them were still sitting on their tables, few, actually. They were sitting there, eating, drinking, and also chatting. The chats were catching Nick's attention:

"So, here hoping that the lion will win."

"You kidding? Of course, the lion will win! What chances does prey have?"

"He will put that grazer in his place, along with all of his kind."

"Yeah, why do the prey still act as if they were not born to be on the bottom of the food chain?"

Then the three mammals laughed. Nick sipped more of his coffee as he continued to sit alone. It was not the first time that Nick saw himself in the middle of a gathering of predator supremacists.

Nick never shared any of their views, of course, no mattered how many times the prey had mistreated and misjudged him, he was not willing to go so far as to label them all as inferior and plot hate crimes. Still, in the shady underbelly of Zootopia, it was possible to find guys like these, and they were among the elements that Nick wanted to avoid, but he had already run in a few of them in one or another occasion.

Nick could actually feel kind of glad for that, for he had learned how to navigate himself out of these places with little risk of angering the guys. He just needed to remain silent, sit on his corner, and if any of them came to talk to him about anything, he just sat there with his sly smile, would nod, and give an occasional "uh-huh". Nick disliked these kinds of guys, but he was smart enough not to voice his disagreement to them out loud, once he knew that guys like that not only disliked prey but also the "prey apologists", as they called those who didn't share their views.

Nick just wished that Wolfard would also do well on his end. Of course, it was the wolf's fault that they walked in there without really knowing what they would find, but he was still a good guy, and Nick knew that he was in far more danger than him. He just hoped that the wolves in there wouldn't start howling…

"Man, what a night." A voice came, making Nick turn his head. "This fight is gonna be-"

The owner of the voice stopped in mid-sentence as he looked at the fox. The coyote stood on 4'4'' feet tall, not much taller than Nick himself. The fur on his body was of a grayish-brown coloration, with a lighter shade on the underside of his muzzle and probably going down his chest and stomach. He was wearing a black hooded shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. His eyes were of a faded shade of brown, and they were wide as they looked at the fox, and Nick could see recognition and surprise in them, followed by what seemed very much to be fear.

Nick knew these emotions, and he partially shared of them. He had also recognized that coyote, and he was also surprised to see him there.

It was a coyote he had seen days ago, into a shady corner of the Downtown, talking to a tiger who was just as shady… while he was at his police uniform.

" _What is he doing here!?_ " Was the thought on Nick's mind. That animal that was in there was someone who knew that the fox was a cop. Someone who could easily snitch on him and let everyone in there know who he was and if that happened… Nick would be lucky if he could get out of that place in one piece…

However, the coyote didn't look like he would snitch on him if the slightly fearful expression on his face was anything to go by. The coyote stood in there for a few moments, just looking at him, and he said:

"Uhhh… h-hi…" He said.

That was the look of someone who wanted to run away, or at least not to do or say anything stupid. Nick looked at that expression, and he decided to play along. His years in the street taught him how to hide his emotions from others behind a mask of confidence and cynicism. Nick just put that mask back on, and he gave a sly smile at the coyote.

"Hey there." Nick said, as casually as possible. The coyote looked back at him, and he cleared his throat before he spoke:

"W-well, it is a surprise… I-I would not think I would find you here… Mr. Wilde."

Nick tensed internally. This was not good. The coyote was talking too much. Nick looked at him as he remembered the meeting that he had with the canine a few days ago. It was strange and fast, and quite awkward. Most of all, it was strange, enough for Nick to want answers. If the situation was different, if he was alone with the coyote, in his police uniform, he would try and get answers from the canine. However, at the moment, Nick was undercover, and it was imperative that no one knew that he was a cop. The way the coyote acted, it would surely draw attention, and Nick could not have that at the moment. He would have to let it slide, for he would be in trouble if he didn't.

"Seriously… A-a place like that is not one where you would expect to find someone of your clan, Mr. Wilde." The coyote said again, and Nick tensed a bit more. The canine was still talking too much, Nick needed to stop him.

"Hey, hey!" Nick said in a hushed tone, making the coyote stop talking, and gestured for him to get closer. The ears of the canine were flat on his skull as he approached the smaller mammal, and Nick whispered to him:

"What is your name, dude?"

The coyote tensed a little bit, and Nick could swear that he heard a small whimper coming from him.

""C-Coyle." The coyote said back. "Hudson Coyle, of the Coyle clan. Yeah, _that_ Coyle clan. But we didn't do what they accused us!" The coyote was saying in a hushed and respectful way, but he still sounded as if he was really trying to defend himself for something. "It was just an accusation of our enemies to taint our name! We were always responsible when we were-"

"Okay, okay!" Nick said, interrupting whatever it was that the coyote was saying. "So, Hudson, I'm kind of by myself in this table, and I kind of want to be left alone for now. So, why don't you go around see if you can find someone to talk?"

"O-oh…" The coyote said, and Nick could see something in his eyes that was almost relief as if he was glad for getting away from Nick.

"Also, don't go telling people that I'm here, okay, I like my privacy." Nick added, and the coyote nodded.

"Y-yes! Of course, Mr. Wilde. I totally understand it! After all, of course, someone like you would not want to be bothered by just anyone! You know, being a Wilde and-"

"Bye, Hudson." Nick said again, between clenched teeth, and this time the coyote did whimper a little bit. He said a quick "sorry" and immediately left, so quick that Nick lost sight of him for a while. Nick was once more left alone.

That coyote was surely a figure.

The way that he acted as afraid and scared of Nick, despite being bigger than him. Well, not by much, but he was surely a small kind of canine, and that alone should be enough to make him more confident against a smaller fox. However, the way he acted with Nick, as if Nick could easily wriggle his neck if he could. Or at least as if Nick had enough influence to track him down and completely ruin his life.

Nick did not understand that, but that was for later, for he now had to focus on his mission. Still, Nick felt like he _should_ track down that coyote, to be able to ask him a few questions. It would not be that hard since he now had the coyote's name:

Hudson Coyle.

* * *

 _This is bad. This is really bad._ Bogo thought as he had just informed the rest of the teams about the change in the situation.

Bogo was no strange to dealing with supremacists, both prey and predator, and the great myriad of individual subgroups that could spawn from it.

Sheep supremacists. Wolf supremacists. Horse supremacists. So on, so on.

Bogo knew from experience that these groups were all the same in their base nature, a great speech built over prejudice, fear, and hate. Dealing with them was always hard, and it was something that Bogo disliked at every moment that he was forced to. Few things could get to him more than hate speeches.

" _What do we do now?_ " Judy's voice came from the other end. " _Nick is still in there!_ "

"Apple will be fine." The cape buffalo said firmly at the bunny on the other end. "And so will Orange. They both know how to take care of themselves."

" _But what if these criminals find out that they are undercover?_ " The bunny came again. " _What if the barbed-wired cannot keep them separated and it all becomes a mess? They could be caught in between! We need to -_ "

"WE…" Bogo said, forcefully interrupting the bunny. "…need to stay in our positions and wait for the right moment. We have a plan, and we are going to stick to it. Sure, this is unexpected, but unexpected things happen all the time. We will continue and we will attack once we have the signal."

" _But chief…_ "

"Is that clear, _Alpha 2_?" Bogo said, and he used the same tune that he always used when he wanted to make a clear point. He knew that Hopps understood it, and like clockwork, she replied:

" _Yes… understood, Alpha 1._ "

Bogo sighed. Hopps was one hell of an officer. She proved that many times, during the Nighthowler Case and after. However, she was still far emotive sometimes, and that was something that could be good in certain situations and a problem in others, as it was proving to be in this case. She was far too worried about the safety of her partner.

Not that it was a bad thing, but if she got too emotive it would get in the way of her judgment, and that was something that Bogo could not have.

Not on there, not at that moment.

"What do we do now?" One of the officers with Bogo said, and the buffalo didn't even bother to turn around as he answered:

"Are you deaf? We stick to the plan." Bogo said, and he made it clear by his voice that it was final, and he took the silence as a confirmation that he had been understood.

Sticking to the plan was all that could be done at the moment, even if things had taken an unpredicted turn. This new development was worrisome, and Bogo _truly_ wished that he had information about this beforehand, for he maybe would have prepared with more care, and escalated other officers for the inside work, but no use worrying about that now. Now he had to have faith in his officers in the inside and hope that neither of them would do anything too much stupid to put themselves into even more trouble…

It meant hoping that Wilde would keep his mouth shut and that Wolfard would be able to hold back if some of the wolves in the place started howling…

Bogo grunted as he turned his attention back into the entrance of the warehouse, and just in time for him to see another mammal who had just arrived. It was from far, but it was possible to see that it was a tiger. The animal was wearing a black shirt and a pair of shorts, he was smoking a cigar, and he approached the rhino, who looked up to look at him.

The rhino talked to the tiger, probably asking him for his ticket. However, the tiger seemed not to have one, and they continued to talk. Bogo looked at them as the talk they were having seemed to be getting more heated. At some point, the tiger simply tried to go inside, but the rhino stopped him with a hand on his chest, and it was possible to see that the rhino was snorting.

 _Oh, crap._ Bogo thought, as some fight breaking in in the entrance of the warehouse and starting off a series of events that could very well spell problem for his officers on the inside.

The tiger continued to try to push his way in, but the rhino continued to push him back. Bogo tensed as he watched this, even more, when he saw the rhino pull out a gun and point it at the tiger. Bogo gripped his own weapon unconsciously, and he seemed ready to aim and fire if there was the immediate need.

The tiger visibly tensed when the rhino pointed the gun at him, his muscles flexing and his claws unsheathing. It looked like the tiger was going to attack. However, after a few agonizing moments, the tiger seemed to relax and take a deep breath.

Bogo himself, relaxed slightly when he saw it, thinking that the tiger was going to back down and maybe leave. However, instead, the tiger continued in front of the rhino, and he reached out for his own face, taking the cigar out of his muzzle.

Bogo looked at it, seeing what the tiger was going to do next.

Unexpectedly, the tiger waved the cigar in front of the rhino's face, and after a few moments, the rhino seemed to relax. It seemed that the tiger was telling him something, and next, the rhino was lowering his weapon, and Bogo thought that he was swaying slightly. The rhino put his weapon back, and now was opening space for the tiger to walk.

The feline simply walked in, while the rhino once more resumed being on guard.

Bogo had a raised eyebrow at this, but he decided that it was just not worth worrying about it, as there was a much more serious situation going on.

Of course, the buffalo was not close enough to see the strange dazed look in the rhino's eyes…

* * *

The fight still hadn't started.

It was an entire hour late, and the fight still hasn't started, and the crowd was not happy about that.

Nick could see it clearly on the side of the predator-supremacists, as they were throwing insults and even trash on the side of the prey-supremacists, who returned it in kind. As if it was not enough, they seemed to no longer be satisfied with throwing their insults and aggression at others and had resorted to doing it to each other.

Nick saw a nearby lion nearly go into a punch fight with a wolf, and the weasels who he had seen fighting each other earlier now seemed like they truly wanted to bit each other's throats off.

The fact that they were having to wait was leaving them on the edge. Of course, the fact that the food was horrible, and that the warehouse they were in felt like an oven was surely not helping.

 _Poor Wolfard, must be nearly baked to perfection inside the sheep costume._ Nick thought to himself.

As he took another sip of the water that he just bought himself (water that seemed just as dubious as the coffee), Nick once more caught himself wanting to get the hell out of there before he would be the next one caught in the aggression that was clearly building in. However, he knew that he could not, for he and Wolfard both had to remain inside and wait for the right moment when the fight would start, so they could give the signal to the other teams for the busting to start.

Of course, it would have been far better if they were to be together to give each other backup, as it was originally planned. However, due to the "theme" of tonight's fight, they have been each one sent to a side, with Nick with the predators while Wolfard, in his sheep disguise, was sent to the side of the prey. Now they were each on their own, and they needed to hope that no more unpredicted circumstances would happen to either of them…

"Hey, have you seen-" someone said, and Nick turned his head to see who it was:

It was a tiger standing on 8'6'' feet tall, with a strong build, as it was possible to see through the black shirt he was wearing, as his strong arms were clear through the sleeves. His fur was of a solid orange with black, as it was normal for tigers, with white on his under muzzle and down his neck, but the fur on his face faded from orange to nearly white. His eyes were of a greenish-yellow coloration, and they widened as Nick looked at him, as did Nick's own green eyes.

"You…" The tiger said, his eyes narrowing, just like they did days ago into that dark alley.

Nick tensed. It was bad enough that he met one of the animals that had known his real name in the place where he was trying to remain undercover. Now, as if that was not enough, he had found the second one.

Some days it seemed that the world just didn't want to help…

Nick did his best to compose himself, and he said to him, as indifferently as he could. "Sup?"

The tiger continued to look at him, his expression was definitely not a friendly one. Nick looked at him for a few moments, before he asked:

"What, do you find me attractive?"

The tiger scoffed. Nick smiled a little at him.

"Well, cannot say I blame you, I have been said that I'm a dazzling handsome fox."

The tiger looked like he wanted to maul Nick, and he probably would have if someone had not come. It was Kyle, the same bear that had greeted Nick when he first came inside the warehouse.

"Hello, hello." He said, somewhat awkwardly, as if he was nervous. "I hope I'm not interrupting, I'm just here to tell everyone that the fight will begin very soon and that I'm terribly sorry for the delay. This usually doesn't happen."

"It's fine." Nick said, and the tiger only looked at him. Kyle stopped for a moment to look at the tiger.

"I… don't remember greeting you in the entrance…"

"I arrived late." The tiger said indifferently, and the bear only looked back at him and shrugged.

"Well, anyway, I'm terribly sorry for the delay, and the fight will start soon." He said, and before leaving, he turned to Nick, and said: "Mr. Russet, hope you enjoy the fight." He approached very close and whispered. "Also, I hope that the sheep who came with you is still your friend at the end of the night."

He soon was leaving, however, the tiger was left behind, and he was now looking at the fox with a raised eyebrow. Nick looked back at him.

"Yes?" Nick asked, and the tiger continued to look at him.

"So… Russet, huh?"

"Yeah, as cliché as it sounds…" Nick said, "So, now, if you don't mind, I would like to be alone here in my table." Nick said, and he hoped that the tiger would act the same way as the coyote. However, it seemed that it was not the case, as the tiger only approached him, looking very intently at the fox.

"You sure you're not interested in me?" Nick said to him, trying to mask his growing uneasiness with humor, and the tiger scoffed once more. Nick even hoped that he was getting feed up with him and would turn around and leave, however, the tiger seemed to have other ideas, as he actually pulled one of the boxes that made the "chairs" of Nick's "table", and sat himself.

Nick tried to remain neutral, but the attitude of the tiger was not helping at all.

"So, do you have a first name, Mr. Russet?" The tiger asked, looking at Nick, and the fox could do nothing more than to keep in character.

"Jake." He said, "Nice, isn't it? My mother chose it."

"Jake Russet." The tiger said. "Jake Russet…" The tiger said, and he looked like he was trying to remember something. "I'm pretty sure I never have heard of a Jake Russet before." He finally spoke, and he looked at the fox. "This means you are either excellent or terrible."

Nick shrugged, not wanting to contradict the tiger, in the risks of blowing his cover and starting a scene.

"So, are you from a new clan?" The tiger asked, "A family that still has no ties with the Association?" He was looking intently at the fox and (Nick presumed) his reactions. "Or are you some freelancer?"

Nick was not sure what any of that meant. It was just like the alley, all over again. Still, Nick kept his cool and tried to act as if he knew everything. The fox only kept his smug expression in place and he shrugged.

"I'm many things, my friend." Nick said, to him, "Right now, I'm a fox who is in an old warehouse waiting to see two mammals beat the snot out of each other."

The tiger continued to look at him, with a raised eyebrow, and he said: "Why are you interested in that?"

"Personal reasons." Nick said, already formulating a way to talk himself out of that situation while avoiding it from escalating, and keeping himself from attracting too much attention. "Now, why are _you_ interested in that? I mean, you are also in here, aren't you?"

The tiger scoffed once more. "I have no interest in that. This is a business for the mundanes, I have much more important things to do."

"Really?" Nick said to him, "Then maybe you should not waste your time talking to a poor little fox like me in a place like this. I don't want to rob you of your precious time, you can go on, I'll take care of my business.

It was a longshot hoping that this would work, and Nick knew that. It was no surprise that the tiger did not move, and continued to stare daggers at the fox.

"Or, it is just that you are really interested in me?" Nick said, and for a moment, it actually seemed that the tiger was going to jump on him and maul him then and there. However, the big feline just scoffed.

"I have no interest in you, fox." He said with a lot of disdain. "Honestly, I couldn't care less about you, or about whatever it is that you are doing right now." He spoke, and soon, he was approaching Nick. "Either you are a member of a new clan trying to make a name for himself, or some freelancer trying to earn some money, I don't really care… but I cannot ignore the thing you have done a few days ago."

Nick looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"How often do you go around using the names of important clans?" The tiger asked, and Nick simply continued to look at him. The tiger then whispered the next part to him:

"To who else did you told that you were a Wilde?"

Nick flinched a bit. Still, he held his composure.

"You know, some are willing to go to great lengths to reach their goals. I understand that, and I can even respect some of that." The tiger spoke to him in whispers. "But, it really gets on my nerves when some smug bastard goes around using the name of an important clan like it is their own."

Nick remained silent, and let the tiger continue.

"It is quite bold, surely, but it is also cheap and very disrespectful."

"When you say it like that, it probably is." Nick said, still acting as if he knew what the tiger was talking about. "I mean, if someone went around using my name I would not like it either. What if the guy started to throw trash in the streets and take candy from small kittens, it would not be good for me."

The tiger had a deep frown on his face as he looked at the fox.

"Do you know it is also dangerous?" The tiger asked him. "That many clans would take great offense on someone impersonating them? That the Wilde is just as proud as any of these clan, if not even more, and that they would be really furious for some mangy fox like you going around saying to be one of them?"

Nick looked at him. A raised eyebrow. "Worried about me? Well, you shouldn't be. I can take care of myself." He said, hoping that he sounded confident. "I mean, it is not like the guys can be that bad. If they were people would be talking about them a lot, right?"

The tiger looked at him with an unamused expression. "I don't know if you are stupid, insane, or a little of both, but if you think you sound brave saying that, you don't. They have already made many of their enemies disappear, we are talking about powerful individuals. Making a nobody like you disappear? That would be easy for them…"

"Wow…" Nick said, "You speak like the Wildes are relatives of the boogie mammal."

"They are worse." The tiger said, leaning over to the fox. "They are the ones who know how to kill the boogie mammal. They are the ones who truly rule over this city. They, Höleh, and Bellwether."

That last part caught Nick's attention.

Had the guy really said " _Bellwether_ "? The same ewe that he and Judy had busted one-and-a-half year ago? The one that was currently in jail?

And "Hole"? Who or what were they?

"If you say so… Still, it must be hard for Bellwether to 'rule the city' from jail, right?" Nick said with a smug confidence, and the tiger looked at him for a few moments, as if he was trying to figure him out. Soon, comprehension filled his face, and the tiger let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, you mean the arrest of Dawn Bellwether by the mundanes? Ha! As if that means anything at all!"

Nick perked a bit at this. "Are you saying she can have influence in things from inside the jail?"

The tiger looked at him, and he said:

"I'm saying, that jail is something that means nothing for the power that Bellwether represents in Zootopia. And if you truly understood anything about this city, you would know it."

Nick looked at the tiger for a while. His mind processing all that he had heard, trying to make sense of what the big feline had spoken to him. Nick had to give the impression that he knew what he was talking about, even though he had absolutely no idea. Still, all that he had just heard was enough to make him think.

The tiger was looking at him, and he said to the fox:

"If you already notice this is a bad idea, Russet, then stop to go around using the names of other clans. It will only bring you trouble, and honestly, it is something that gets on my nerves. Either you make fame with your own name or you fade away." The tiger said, and the fox looked at him.

"So… you came all the way here just to say that to me?" Nick asked. The tiger looked back at him. "What, do you consider me important, or something?"

"I don't care jack about you!" The tiger shot back. "I'm just here looking for someone."

"Oh." Nick said, "Would that, by any chance, be your coyote friend?"

The tiger turned back at him, looking at the fox.

"He passed by my table just a few minutes ago." Nick said, "He went in that direction."

The tiger looked at where Nick pointed, and back at the fox. He kept staring daggers at the fox, before he started to walk in direction to where Nick had pointed, leaving the fox alone.

Nick also kept his eyes on the tiger, and once the big feline was finally out of sight, Nick found himself letting out a breath he felt like he was holding ever since the tiger locked eyes with him.

Nick took his cup and took another gulp of that cheap slur "coffee" as he tried to calm himself. Once he did, he couldn't help but ask himself:

_What the heck was all of that?_

Nick remained in place for a few moments, before he went for his lapel.

"Orange, you there?"

" _Yes, I am._ " Wolfard's voice answered. " _What is it, Apple? Did something happened?_ "

"Yes… No… Maybe… Look, let's move closer to the fence, I think it will be better if we can both see each other."

" _… Yeah, I agree._ "

* * *

Outside of the warehouse, team Alpha 2 was still waiting, and they were quite anxious.

They had been informed of the situation, as well as Alpha 3, and they were uncomfortable with the situation.

Many mammals didn't like hate groups, and the ones present were included in this. All of them were serious as they waited for the signal in the inside. Even Eliot Fanghanel, who was usually jolly most of the time, was serious like Judy had few times saw him. The wolf looked determined, just like the other two predators who were in the team.

Judy herself was growing restless. She knew that Chief Bogo was right and that they needed to stick to the plan, otherwise everything could go South faster than a flock of migrating birds. Still, knowing that her partner was currently in the middle of two hate groups that could break into a fight with each other at any given moment was making her even more nervous than she was when this was just a regular busting.

Before, there was already the suspicion that the mammals who were inside would be violent. Now, that was most certain, and the danger that a fight could break in there between the two mobs was a very real threat.

The idea of Nick being caught up between both prey and predator supremacists was something that terrified her. She felt like getting in there and dragging Nick out before things could get worse, but she knew that this was no longer an option.

Danmit! Why did Wolfard did not share that information? They could have prepared better! Judy was going to have a very serious conversation with the wolf as soon as this situation was over. If anything, she would at least join the conversation that Chief Bogo would surely have with him about the same subject.

* * *

Back inside the warehouse, the coyote, Hudson Coyle, was sneaking out of an area of the warehouse that seemed to have been modified to be separated from the rest of the place. He passed by the cords that were in place and passed by the two burly bears that seemed to be there as securities.

"Thanks, dudes." Coyle said, waving at the bears, who lazily waved back at him.

_Okay, one is done, now for the other-_

However, Coyle didn't finish this thought, for as soon as he turned around, he nearly bumped into the chest of a much bigger animal. Looking up, he saw a familiar face of a scowling tiger.

Coyle immediately stopped in place, his ears pressing flat against his head while his tail tucked between his legs.

They looked at each other for a few moments, before Coyle said:

"Zane… Dude! What a surprise seeing you here!" He said, with a fake smile. The tiger's scowl deepened. "So, did you changed your mind about coming with me?"

"You really cannot follow instructions, can you?" The tiger said. "I told you that we needed you for the ritual."

Coyle shrunk a little bit under the tiger's gaze. Still, he was able to speak his mind, even though he sounded meeker.

"W-well, the fight was postponed because the lion was not feeling well, you know since his brother died back there in Fangtropolis and all. I-I just assumed that tonight would be better."

"We would be busy _all week_." The tiger shot back. "I told you that. Boss has been asking for you, and you know how she gets when things don't go the way she wanted."

Coyle shrunk a little more. The tiger sighed.

"You're lucky I decided to cover for you, against my better judgment, I must add. If she finds out I lied to cover you, not only will she want your tail, but also my own."

The coyote instinctively took both hands to his behind, his tail tucking even more between his legs. The tiger only sighed at this, and he said:

"We are leaving. Now."

Next thing Coyle knew, he was being pulled by his arm, and just as they turned, another mammal was passing by them. It was the bear from earlier.

"Oh, sorry." The bear said as he passed by the two mammals, and walked to the two other bears who were acting as securities. He passed by both of them, ignoring their slightly blank expressions. However, while he ignored them, the tiger could not help but notice these looks as he had turned his head to see the bear going, and had a catch a glimpse in the expressions of the two bears.

His eyes widened, and he turned his head in the direction to the coyote, who looked even meeker than before, and he looked like he wanted to just disappear in thin air. The coyote gave him a meek smile, and the tiger only continued to look at him, his expression was now severe.

"Hudson." He said, his voice denoted almost what it could be considered a warning. "Please, tell me you were not stupid enough to do it… again."

The coyote opened and closed his mouth a few times as if he was trying to speak but could not find his voice under that hard gaze. Behind him, the bear was coming out of the secluded part, and right behind him, was a big lion…

* * *

Nick was able to see the disguised mammal on the other side of the fence, as they both stood as close as they could, having a good view of each other.

The animals around them were getting more and more riled up, as both sides threw insults and profanities of each other, as well as some garbage that they within paw's reach. Nick looked at the wolf disguised as sheep, and the animal looked back at him (or at least Nick supposed that he was, once these dead eyes of the sheep mask made it quite hard to determine) and they both seemed to agree that it was better for them not to lose sight of each other.

It was hard to hear over the screaming and name-calling of the two mobs, but the two animals were able to communicate with each other by subtle gestures Nick was happy that he taught some of his fellow officers the gestural language that he was used to utilizing, and he was glad that they were able to get it better than Carrots once did (she also had learned it, and could understand him better now).

' _These guys are wild, aren't they?_ ' Nick said through hand gestures at the wolf, who caught sight of it through the lenses of his mask.

' _Yeah, I think that soon the barbed wire won't keep them apart for long._ ' The wolf replied, also through gestures. ' _Maybe we should call the teams now?_ '

' _Getting cold feet?_ ' Nick asked through his gestures. ' _We came this far, cannot turn around now. Besides, it is all your fault._ '

The "sheep" stopped at this, and Nick was sure that he knew what expression was behind that emotionless sheep mask. ' _My fault?_ ' Wolfard asked through gestures, and Nick nodded at him, choosing instead not to answer with gestures of any kind.

The disguised wolf would probably have pressed the question if their attention had not been called back to the main ring by the voice of the pig.

"Attention, everyone!"

All eyes turned to the ring and the pig that was standing in the middle of it, with a mic on his paw and looking around the full warehouse.

"I hope you all are still as excited about this fight as you were when you came in because it will start now!"

The crowd cheered at this, and Nick and Wolfard both traded looks as they both knew: the moment of calling their backup was coming.

"The time has come for the battle of all battles! The battle that will put an end to the generations of struggle and conflict. The battle that will finally decide the supremacy between predator and prey!"

The crowd cheered more, and Nick could hear a very familiar and distinguished sound.

The wolves were howling.

 _Oh, crap._ Was the thought in Nick's mind.

* * *

Outside, the animals could hear a sound of howling. The rhino in the front looked over his shoulder, but merely shrugged and returned to reading his newspaper.

The team Alpha 1, however, was more nervous.

"Oh, no…" Bogo groaned.

* * *

On the other side, the animals of Alpha 2 stiffened slightly.

Eliot himself, who was caught off-guard, nearly started howling himself in answer to the howls but was kept quiet when Catano and Rhinowitz both stopped him. The rhino used his big hand to clamp his muzzle shut, while the cheetah put a hand covering his lips.

This seemed to be enough to make Eliot himself to snap out of it, and now he too was using both his hands to help the two keep his mouth shut.

* * *

On the advantage points upward, the animals of Alpha 3 could also hear the howling, and they knew that this was not really good.

The compulsion to howl was a deeply ingrained into a wolf's instincts, especially if it was to answer to other wolves. It was something that they could not help, and it took a lot of willpower to hold back from howling when someone else was howling.

"I hope Wolfard has strong willpower," Meerkovitz said to himself as he continued to look through the lens of his dart rifle.

* * *

Nick was nervous as he heard the howling and even more because they were continuing, and it was actually possible to hear them clearly over the uproar of the two mobs.

"Crap, the wolves started howling!"

"What did you expected? That is all they actually know how to do!"

"Yeah, stupid mutts."

The jeers of the prey supremacists would have Wolfard staring daggers at them through his sheep mask if the disguised wolf was not so focused on suppressing his own urge to howl with his peers.

The 'sheep' was stiff, his arms close to his body, and his fists clenched. It was even possible to see that the animal was trembling slightly as he tried to hold his howls inside. Nick could see it from where he was standing, and he had to recognize that it was admirable how the wolf was holding it, for he knew that it took a lot of willpower to hold in like that.

"Now!" The voice called their attention back to the center of the warehouse, and to the ring, where the pig was standing. "Let's all know the two brave fighters of tonight! On this side, representing all the prey everywhere, we have him! 1.200 lb. of muscle and fury! The former champion of the wrestling circuits! Now in here to be a hero of the prey everywhere! JASON 'KILLER HOOVES' BISANTIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"

The prey supremacists all exploded in cheers, and the predators booed the animal that walked into the ring.

Bisantin was a former wrestler, and it seemed that tonight he had decided to dress the part. The 10 feet tall, very muscled Eurasian bison was dressed into a wrestling outfit, a green singlet with bracers and anklets of the same color, and a mask on his face. It did nothing to hide his horns, although it pressed the great amount of fur that he had on his head. The fur on his body was of a dark-brown coloration. The animal walked into the ring, looking at the crowd around and bellowing as loud as he could, and the crowd answered with boos and cheers. It did look like the animal was right on his element…

"And… on this side, representing the predators." The pig continued. "We have a young individual who has a lot of passion for his ideals and for his causes! 320 lb. of determination, strength, and killer instinct! The champion of predators! MATEO FERAAAAAAAAAA!"

More boos and cheers echoed into the warehouse, along with more excited howls (much to Nick's dismay and worry) for the second mammal to walk into the ring. The lion was also well-muscled, as he stood on nearly eight feet tall himself. The fur on his body was of a sand coloration, it was easy to see because the lion walked in with nothing more than worm out shorts, and it was also possible to see that he had a number of scars on his body, making others wonder that the lion truly was no strange for battles. The mane around his neck and head was thick and of a reddish-brown coloration. The lion looked around as he walked into the ring, his face was one that would make anyone think twice before getting too close to him. The lion looked around and roared, loud enough to be clearly heard above the many sounds that the two sides of the crowd were making, and enough to be heard from the outside, slightly startling the animals who were surrounding the warehouse.

Nick knew that lions could roar loud if they wanted, but most of them refrained from doing it because it was seen as rude. Still, it was not a few times when Nick had the chance to hear the roar of a lion, especially the angry ones. And what he just heard – Nick was pretty sure – was a very, VERY angry roar.

The crowd was going wild, cheering for their "champion" while jeering the other, the wolves continued to howl (causing Nick to tense up, and making Wolfard scrap out every ounce of mental resistance that he had), meanwhile, the two fighters got into position as they were getting ready to charge at each other on the right moment. Actually, it seemed that they were eager, almost itching to charge at each other. The bison would not stop grinning as he snorted and gestured at the lion, passing a hooved thumb over his own neck as a threat. The lion only snarled, his eyes widen and his chest heaving in deep breaths as he looked at the prey before him, he almost looked like he was foaming from the mouth.

"Almost time…" Nick said, and he looked at the other officer, who looked back at him and nodded. Immediately after, the howling started again in the predator mob, and the disguised cop stiffened once more, and he was actually shaking slightly.

_Oh, come on…_

"Now, both of you, you know the rules: there aren't any!" The pig said, and the two animals were panting deeply as they stared at each other. "Now, make sure to do a great fight!" The pig said, and he was rushing out of the stage.

Nick saw that from where he was standing, in between the legs of the bigger animals, and looking back at his partner, who was now barely holding it in from the howling of the other wolves.

_Crap, he won't hold it for long. We need to do this now!_

Nick quickly grabbed the lapel of his shirt and spoke to the piece in there:

"Alpha 1. Alpha 1, do you copy? Mushroom. Mushroom!"

* * *

"- _Mushroom!_ "

As soon as Bogo heard the signal, he switched the channel to the one used by all the Alpha teams.

"The signal was given, start operation, now! Alpha 2 and 3, in alert now, we are going in!" Bogo said, and soon, he was gesturing to his mammals, and they soon were moving.

They came from behind the warehouse, and as they moved, Bogo immediately aimed at the rhino, who was hit by a dart on the neck, and was out before he could react. The team then moved to the entrance.

* * *

Back inside, the pig was talking in the microphone.

"Get ready…"

Wolfard was shaking, and Nick said it, and he also saw when one of the prey on his side came to him.

"Hey, dude." He said, talking to the "sheep". "Are you okay? You look…" He said, putting a hoof on the disguised mammal's shoulder.

As soon as that hoof made contact with the shoulder of the animal, the wolf could just not hold it anymore, as he threw his head back and let out a howl, joining the other wolves, and startling the animal who was trying to help him.

At the same fight, the pig on the stage said to the two: "Fight!" urging them to immediately lunging at each other.

Almost in the same moment, mammals in tactical clothing and with special guns came through the entrance, the buffalo who was leading them saying:

"ZPD, FREEZE!"


	8. Catching Perps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The busting finally happens. Darts are flying, lowlives are being aprehended. Everything seems to be going according to plan.
> 
> However, Nick and Wolfard catch something that leads them down the hole... literally.

Many things happened at the same time.

Inside the ring, the battle had just started, as both bison and lion charged at each other. The bison with a mad grin on his face, while the lion roared like a mad mammal.

The lion immediately tried to claw the bison, who sidestepped and countered with a well-placed punch into the gut of the feline, who reeled back, this was the opening the lion needed to be able to land three more punched into the lion, who was now spitting out blood.

The feline growled and bared his teeth and claws, and was ready for the counter, which was so violent and sudden that the bison barely had time to react. He was only able to move his body out of the way to avoid the worse of the slashes, and the claws of the predator before him opened gashes on his clothes and on his skin (which he thanked the maker that was thick), as droplets of blood leaked down form the wounds that were just opened.

The bison grunted. The pain of the wounds was stinging, but he knew that it was far from being debilitating. Actually, the pain helped him feel more alive and was an encouragement to fight better. Also, the fact that the lion started to fight with all that he had actually gave him the excuse he needed to fight with all that he had as well. He had a grin on his face as he looked at the lion, which would almost make one think that he was high.

As the lion himself seemed to be, if the maddened look in his eyes as he growled was of any indication.

* * *

Outside of the ring, somewhere in the crowd, a sheep had just started howling, and this, of course, called some attention.

Many of the prey gave a step back from him as he howled, and some of the predator side were staring as Nick could only look in fear.

"What the heck?" The prey who had just tried to help the "sheep" said, as he looked at the ovine that had just started to howl as if he was one of the wolves. Another animal who was near him, a rhino, had a raised eyebrow as he looked at him.

"Wait, is that a zipper?" He said, gesturing to the neck of the sheep. It was possible to see the shine of a zipper, as well as the glimpse of something that did not looked like wool.

"Wait a minute!" Another one, a bull said, and walked to the howling sheep. He grabbed the zipper and pulled it down, revealing fur under the wool. He also grabbed the bottom "wool" of the neck and pulled it up. The animals around him gasped as a wolf's head revealed from under the sheep's one.

"What the fuck!?"

"Is one of the chompers!"

"Get him!"

Wolfard had stopped howling as he was exposed. He always carried a gun hidden, but it was only one, and right now he was in the middle of a whole mob of predator-haters. He was pretty sure that his days were numbered at that very moment.

However, it seemed that luck was on his side, for at that moment, the ones who were wanting to go at him were distracted by the sound of a great commotion coming from the area of the entrance.

"The cops are here!"

That was the moment when all hell broke loose.

All of the animals in there were trying to make a run for it, getting one over the other to try and reach a way out of the warehouse. A team of mammals in the ZPD was throwing out orders of them to stop and to surrender, as they darted however was trying to run away or to attack them.

They were armed to their teeth with dart guns, anyone who tried to go at them was darted on the spot, and the ones who tried to run were darted as well. Most of the animals in there were unarmed, and they didn't wanted to get darts on the arm or butt, so they were either surrendering or (most of them) trying to make a break for it.

"What? The police?"

"But how!?"

"The mutt!" One sheep said, pointing at Wolfard. "He is with them!"

Most of the animals were running, and they seemed to have forgotten of the "imposter" that was among them. Wolfard used this as a chance, pulling out his dart gun his pants and pointing it at the animals that were still paying attention to him, darting as many as he could. The ones who were surrounded him were out like lights. Most paid little attention, as they were most attentive on getting the hell out of that place.

Nick saw it, and he was able to smile at the wolf. While he also tried not to get step on or dragged by the predators who were trying to get out of that place as well. All of sudden, it was like the animals in there had forgotten their differences, as all of them only thought of running out of that place so they would not go to jail.

They rushed in direction to the other end of the place, to the other door that was on the end of the other warehouse, aiming to go through it and to the hope of their freedom.

They did reached it, and they were nearly trampling each other as they tried to get through it as now it was each mammal for himself. Eventually, the door was open, and the mammals were able to get through it. Most of them actually wanting to get away from there as fast as they could, but a few did stopped as they were able to notice that there was a piece of the scenery that was unusual, to say the least:

An unconscious elephant with a dart sticking form his behind.

Only when darts started to fly from the darkness, hitting the mammals who were trying to get out of the warehouse, was that they noticed that this was not a good idea.

"ZPD! Paws in the air!" A bunny wearing heavy police suit said, pointing her dart gun at the animals. She was not alone though, as a wolf, cheetah and rhino, all dressed alike, were along with her, pointing their guns at the animals and darting them as soon as they tried to move away.

The animals in there were falling like leaves as the darts hit them. The mess was set, as each mammal was trying to run out of the range of the darts, and some of them were actually able to avoid the darts of the four animals, and to run out of the cops who were firing. One example was a hippo, who managed to slip away in the mess and run away. He had a smile on his muzzle as he thought that he had managed to slip away. However, this was short lived, as soon, he was dropping face first in the ground, a dart sticking out of his arm, courtesy of Meerkovitz, who was just reloading his dart rifle.

"Got you." The meerkat said, as he went back into surveilling the area, keeping an eye over the ones who were down there, trying to get away. He also kept an eye over his fellow officers, as they continued their job on darting the ones who tried to escape by the other end.

The animals who were trying to escape, as they noticed that the cops were covering that area, rushed to go back inside, and that was only for them to be remembered that the cops were also inside of the warehouse, darting whoever was in their sight.

They were trapped.

The plan that the ZPD came up with was showing to be very efficient, as the animals in there were now easy targets for them. Of course, only a part of the mammals seemed to notice it, as only a pawful of them surrendered to the officers, while most seemed to either be willing to try to find a way out or to fight.

Bogo already had to dart five animals who had tried to run on his direction, as he and Delgato were looking over one of the sides that was separate by the barbed wire, while McHorn and Fangmeyer were on the other end. Many of them were willing to attack them, either with their bare fists of with anything they could have in hand, including the boxes and craters used as tables and chairs in there. Luckily, none of them was ready to fight, as they were quickly darted without as much as putting up a good struggle.

Even thought, some of them actually seemed to be ready to represent an actual threat, as it was the example of one zebra who was advancing at them with a switchblade, but he quickly feel to the ground darted, but not by their darts.

Delgato, the one the zebra was going for, blinked, and he looked over, to see Nick with his dart gun. The fox casually winked at the lion, and blew the barrel of his dart gun.

Meanwhile, other animals were still trying to escape by the other end of the warehouse, where team Alpha 2 was waiting. Most of them were darted on sight, but some of them were able to avoid the darts and try to make a dash for it. Some of them even dashed in direction to the cops, as they wanted to maul them.

Catano just had to dart two rhinos who were coming for her. She missed a jaguar that was coming in her direction, and nearly managed to get to her when Rhinowitz got in the way, and pushed him back, making him drop hard on the ground as he was pushed back by the burlier prey, only to be darted right after.

Judy seemed to be a popular target among the mammals who were trying to escape. Probably because she was small, and the animals assumed that she was an easy target. These were in for a great surprise.

The small bunny lacked size, but she compensated with wits and speed, which she used with mastery, as she scampered from the animals who tried to claw or stomp on her and darted them. At one moment, a horse tried to stomp on her with his hooves, but Judy was able to avoid it by jumping. She landed on his knee and jumped again, landing on his head and jumping once more, darting him on the neck in the process. From there, she jumped over the heads of four more mammals, darting each one of them in the neck as she jumped, and she landed in front of a big bear, skidding on the ground and between the bear's legs as she darted him in the buttocks.

Judy was getting up, and she had failed to notice the weasel who was coming at her with a pocketknife. Luckily, someone else noticed that, as the weasel was darted and dropped to the ground. It was a courtesy of Eliot Fanghanel.

 _That is what you get for messing with future Mrs. Wilde._ Eliot thought to himself as he smiled at the unconscious weasel. Judy had just saw the unconscious weasel and looked at the wolf. Eliot smiled at her and made a salute. However, instead of smiling back, Judy widened her eyes.

"Look out!" She cried out, surprising Eliot. The next thing the wolf heard was a strangled gasp and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. He looked back to see a big elephant laying on the ground, with a dart sticking out of his body, his trunk still tied around the big piece of wood that it intended to use to hit the wolf.

" _Fanghanel, you need to keep focus._ " Meerkovitz voice came from the radio. " _Just because I'm on sentry duty here does not means the rest of the group can slack._ "

Team Alpha 3 was also doing their job right, as they kept watch over the place from the top, and darted whoever escaped from the other two teams. Most of it consisted into darting the ones who were able to get past Alpha 2 or, like just happened, tried to take out the officers. Of course, it also meant the ones who tried to escape by other means, since some mammals wanted so bad to escape that they were able to break through the relatively frail walls of the warehouse, with a lot of effort.

All of these were darted by the officers in the sniper team, all of them with great shooting skills. Meerkovitz was a great example, as he seemed to notice all of the animals trying to attack Alpha 2 or escape by one or another end, or by their own self-made exits. The meerkat showed to all that he truly was a mammal of good aim and sharp senses.

_Oh yeah, puppy. This is Sentry Duty for you._

The plan was working like a charm, and the ZPD was being quick to seize and dominate the animals who were in there. In the middle of the mayhem, Nick was able to pass to the other side by sneaking under the barbed-wire fence. In there, he could sneak in between the animals who ran from one side to another, trying not to get caught up in between their running and their attempts of escaping, and occasionally darting one or two with his gun, which he had brought hidden on himself.

After running a little bit, he was able to see Wolfard, his wolf head exposed against the false sheep appearance, and the fox was quick to run by his side, darting an animal who had tried to attack him in the process. The wolf had formed a small barricade with the tables, hiding behind it, and the fox soon joined him.

"What a night, huh?" Nick said, panting slightly, while the wolf looked down on him.

"Yeah, kind of like the basketball game I was last week." The wolf agreed, and the two animals were able to look past their barricade and dart one or two animals, before they ducked back in to recharge their dart guns.

As they did, Nick was able to catch something with his peripheral vision. It was Kyle, the grizzly bear. Accompanied by two other bears, both dressed in suits who were defending him as they made their way through the mayhem.

Nick followed them with his gaze, and he saw the grizzly bear reach out for an old rug that was covering that area of the floor. The grizzly removed the rug, revealing a trapdoor. He opened it, and soon he was going down on it with his two bodyguards following him closely, with the last one to go closing the trap door as they went.

They probably thought that they were making an exit without anyone seeing, but Nick had managed to see them. The trapdoor surely was of an old underground path. Zootopia had a few of them; memory from the old times of the city, but mostly of these underground paths had been close, with only a few having remain open. They probably had found it and thought they could use it as a way to get away from the problem in an emergency, just as they were doing at that very moment.

Kyle had presented himself to them as one of the organizers of the event, and Nick knew that they could not let the bear slip like that. The bear could be the key to get the other mammals who were involved in this and close these illegal fights for good.

"Orange." Nick said, catching the wolf's attention. "I just saw our friend Kyle trying to get away from the party."

"Let him try. The other teams will get him." Wolfard said, as he finished reloading his dart gun.

"I don't think so, unless one of them can see under the concrete." Nick said, "Come, we gotta get him."

Wolfard said, following the fox into the place where the trapdoor was. They opened it and, as Nick had expected, saw a staircase inside that led to what seemed to be a tunnel.

"Not afraid of the dark, are you?" Nick asked, and the wolf triggered his gun, showing that he was ready for action. Nick could only smile back at him.

"Attention, Alpha." The fox said to the lapel of his shirt. "This is Apple talking. We just saw one of the organizers of the event escaping by an underground tunnel. He is with two other bears and it is probably that they are armed. We are going on pursuit."

" _Hold on, Apple. It is dangerous. You don't know what you could be walking into_." Bogo's voice came.

"True, Alpha 1" Nick said, checking on his dart gun. "But I do know that we cannot let that guy escape when we can get him. We are both ready and we will proceed carefully."

There was a brief silence, and next, the chief's voice came again.

" _Fine, but if the situation proves to be difficult you must either turn back or call for backup and wait for it. That is an order._ "

"Okie dokie, Chief. That is Apple, roger and out." Nick said, and looked at Wolfard, who nodded at him. Soon the two mammals were going down on the staircase, relying on their good night vision to be able to walk down the steps of the stairs.

As the two officers went down in chase of the criminals who were trying to escape, they had both failed to notice that someone had observed them go, and the two figures were now approaching the open trapdoor.

* * *

The lion was giving him more trouble than he thought. Killer Hooves had seen better days, as he now had a lot of cuts and gashes on his body, from which blood continued to leak, and he had a limping leg form the bite that the lion gave him, and left eye bruised and swollen shut. The lion was not in much better shape either.

Bruises were all over his body and on his face, swollen on the muzzle from multiple punches that he had received. The lion also had gashes on his body. Hooves could cut just as deep as claws if you used enough force, as Killer Hooves knew himself. The left arm of the lion was hanging limp, certainly dislodged from the shoulder due to the last grapple that the bison had made. Still, the lion was growling at him, looking as if he suffered nothing at all, and looking like he wanted to maul the bison with whatever claws he had left. He showed his teeth, with some missing, fallen form the fight, and unsheathed the claws of the paw that was on his still good arm.

The lion didn't knew when to quit!

Well, at least the crowd was surely riled up from…

However, this trail of thought was interrupt when the bison looked at the crowd for the first time since the battle began. During the course of the battle, he had been too focus on fighting and he had only paid attention to the sounds of the crowd. He had assumed that the screaming he had been hearing was cheering and jeering, as it was common in the fights. However, when he looked around, he could see animals rushing from side to side, and many on the ground. He also saw animals in heavy equipment in there, carrying heavy dart guns. There was no way he would mistake kinds of animals who used such equipment.

Crap! The cops got in there!

"Dammit!" Bisantin said. "The cops are here! We gotta-"

He didn't had the chance to finish the phrase, as in that same instant, the lion lunged at him, roaring and swinging his claws, which the bison was barely able to dodge in time to avoid losing an eye.

* * *

Nick and Wolfard walked side by side. Their eyes had gotten used to the low light of the tunnel. Night vision was surely a perk of being a nocturnal predator, as foxes and wolves both surely knew.

"Got any visual on them?" The wolf whispered to the fox, as both of them kept their weapons pointed in front and approached as quickly and carefully as they could.

"Not at all. But they surely are ahead of us." Nick answered, absolutely sure of this. They had made a few curves ever since they entered into that tunnel, one or two times they had come into an area where the path bifurcated. Luckily, Wolfard's keen sense of smell was able to pick up the scent of the bears who had just passed, and indicate to them the right way to follow.

"Where do you think this tunnel leads?" Wolfard said, as they turned yet another curve.

"Wherever it is…" Nick said, as he kept up with the pacing of the bigger canine "I just hope it is not the Nocturnal District."

* * *

Bogo and Delgato had just finished the darting, and the ones left were either cuffed or trying to find other ways to escape. McHorn and Fangmeyer surely looked like they could take care of this.

Alphas 2 and 3 were outside catching anyone who was trying to run away from the warehouse. Meanwhile, Wilde and Wolfard were on the pursuit of a key target that was escaping through an underground passage.

This left only the two animals in the ring to catch.

Bogo looked at the two animals, who seemed still far too focused on fighting each other to notice that things had gone wary around them. The lion roared like a mad mammal while he tried to claw at the bison, who fought back with punches and by pushing him away.

Bogo looked around, and saw a pig handcuffed into the ground, remaining in the ground like they told him to when they put the cuffs on him. Bogo approached, and the pig saw him coming, adopting an expression of fear.

"I'm cooperating! I'm cooperating!" The swine said in earnest. Bogo approached and knelt near him, and asked:

"Do you have the key to the cage?" He gestured at the ring, and the pig nodded.

"Y-yes sir! In my left back pocket!"

Bogo put his hoof in the pocket of the swine's pants, and soon he was able to fish out a set of keys. Getting up, he nodded at Delgato, gesturing for him to follow. They approached the closest end of the cage in the ring, and as Bogo put the key on the keyhole to open the door, he could hear a little of what was going on in there. It seemed that it really heating up now…

"Stop it!" Bisantin said to the lion, who continued to try to maul him, forcing the big prey to use both his arms to hold the teeth-packed muzzle and the still functional clawed paw of the lion away from his body.

"Stop it, you idiot! The cops are in here!" Bisantin said to him. "We are both going to go to jail! I think we can escape from them, but only if we work together!"

"I'll… kill you…" Fera growled as he continued trying to claw and bite the bison that was standing before him. "I'll kill you… you darn grazer… you will pay… you will all pay…"

"Stop it! Stop it!" Bisantin said once more, as the lion was now trying to reach for his neck with his jaws. Finally, the bison had enough and was able to use his strength to raise the lion from the ground slightly and throw him back.

"You idiot!" Bizantin said to the lion, who was slightly dazed, but quickly getting up. "The cops are in here! We are going to go to jail if we don't escape! Is that what you want? Have you been in jail before!? I have! And I don't intend to go back! Now quit this whining of yours and listen to me so we can… we can… ooowwwww."

Bizantin soon was falling to the ground. There were four darts sticking from his back. Delgato was pointing a dart gun at him, and right behind him was coming Bogo, also pointing his gun forward.

As they pointed, Fera was getting back up, and he looked at the bison, who was in the ground.

"Get up…" the lion said to the unconscious bovine. "Get up now… Get up and fight! You darn grazer! Get up so I can finish you off!"

Delgato looked over his shoulder to look at Bogo, and the chief only made a head gesture. This was all that the lion police officer needed.

"Mateo Fera?" Delgato said, catching the lion's attention. "ZPD, do not move. You are under arrest."

Fera looked at the lion, still panting and growling. The lion fixated his gaze on the two officers that were coming, and he leaned forward. Delgato even thought that he was going to lay on the ground and let himself be cuffed, however, the lion was instead adopting a four-legged position, and the way he continued to growl and bare his teeth made he look pretty much like a savage predator.

"Is all your fault… All your fault…" Fera grumbled as he growled.

"Stop! Stay down!"

"Is your fault… my brother… ALL YOUR FAULT!" Fera roared as he made a leap, lunging straight in the officers' direction.

* * *

Another trapdoor has just opened, and a big bear with a suit came through. He got out, and soon two more bears came after him. One of them was Kyle, who sighed as he finally could feel the fresh air again.

Bears were famous for liking caves and dark places, but Kyle surely was not one of these. In fact, he was a little claustrophobic when it can to caves and similar spaces. Still, he was glad that they had found this old underground tunnel when they were preparing the warehouse for the fight. It led to a deserted road so abandoned that vehicles hardly even went that way anymore, only old light posts illuminated the road, and it was so empty that some could even mistake it by part of a ghost city. Apparently, it was once used to smuggling illegal materials and stolen goods, in the past of Zootopia. Now, it made a perfect getaway for an emergency, and it proved to be very useful just now. It led to a good distance from the warehouse, and the way that things were in there, by the time the cops managed to find it, he would be long gone.

Still, Kyle could not understand how the cops were able to find the place and take it like that. He had been so careful… Oh, well. No use crying over spilled honey, now he had to keep moving, and next time, he needed to be more careful.

Sighing as he fished up his phone, he went to the fast dial and dialed a number. He was taking the phone on his ear and waiting for the one on the other end to pick up. He, along with his two bodyguards, failed to notice that someone else was coming out of the trapdoor behind them.

"Hey there." The bear said as the one in the other end picked up. "It's Kyle. Look, there was a problem… The cops busted into the place and took over, sorry." Kyle immediately had to move the phone away from his ear, as the one in the other end started to yell.

"Hey, hey. Hey!" Kyle said, as the one on the other side continued to yell at him. "Will you let me talk?" He said, and the conversation continued, he didn't noticed that the bodyguards both suddenly gasped, a sound that was followed by the sound of two heavy bodies hitting the ground.

"Yes… yes, I know… No, I don't know how they found out!" Kyle continued. "… Of course I was careful. What do you think I am...? Yeah, I know that this means problem for us… No, the fighters were still in the cage, I'm pretty sure that they didn't escaped… Yeah, it surely is a setback on everything… Hey, don't worry, we have a good audience, of course they will all come back as soon as the dust has settled… Yes, I'll make sure that next time there are no flaws… If what happened today was caused by someone, you can be sure that I'll have their pelts. Now don't worry, I'll do what I can to prepare for the next fight, it will be a success. You have my word on that." Kyle finished and hung up on the phone. Immediately, a familiar voice said from behind him.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to keep that promise, pal."

The bear twirled around, and he saw two animals pointing dart guns at him. One was a wolf who was with what seemed to be sheep wool from his neck down. The other one was a fox who had a sly smile on his face.

Kyle looked around, and he soon spotted his two bodyguards on the ground, laying unconscious with darts sticking out of their bodies.

The bear blinked, confused, but as he looked at the two mammals, comprehension replaced the confusion, followed by a cold expression as he looked at the two.

"I see… Well, it does make sense." The bear said calmly, as Wolfard and Nick pointed their dart guns at him. "Well, I have to say that I'm doubly surprised. Both for finding out that 'wolf in sheep's clothing' is not just a saying…" He looked at Wolfard, and turning his head at Nick, "And that the ZPD actually did started to employ foxes… I was sure it was just a publicity campaign."

"Yeah, this campaign truly works out for me." Nick said to him. The bear only looked back at him.

"Just what is the world coming to?" The bear said, "Now even the foxes can turn tail and join the cops. Before we only had to worry about you guys picking our pockets or selling us cheap stuff in the street."

"Yeah, I used to do that. Not the pocket picking, but I did should a few things to people out there. Until I decided it was time to turn over a new leaf. Now here I am, using my slyness in service of law and order."

"Until they decide that they don't have to tolerate you anymore." The bear said. "It will happen, you know? I heard that of many foxes. They try to go legitimate and get themselves honest jobs, until something go missing or someone complain of having a fox in the workplace, then they are thrown out like old, rotten fruit. It happened to many others before."

"You know, I think we should start by reading your rights, but I'm pretty sure you know them." Nick said to him, "My doubt is that we should count that phone call you just made as your one phone call or if we should give on an extra one. Also, maybe you could want to call your lawyer, if you think you need."

"Now, paws where we can see." Said Wolfard."

The bear looked at them for a few moments. "Do we really have to do this?" The bear said, raising his hands as he had been told. "I have resources, you know? I could make a phone call and have a good sum of money transferred to both your accounts. If you two would be kind enough to look away so I can leave." The bear kept an eye on both officers as he said that. "Sounds reasonable, don't you think? Come on, we are all predators, we know how unfair life can be for us. Let's help one another, yes?"

"And you have just added bribery attempt to your charges." Nick said to him. "You are running a pretty long tab. These kinds of things accumulate jail time, you know?"

The bear looked at the fox, and after a few moments, he opened a smile. Nick didn't liked that smile.

"Well, it is too bad..." The bear said. "For you two."

Before Nick had time to think of what the bear just said, he heard two metallic *click*s coming from behind himself and Wolfard, followed by the feeling of something metallic and cold on the back of his head. He didn't even had to turn his head to know that he was screwed.

Behind them, two burly bears, also in suit, were pointing two _guns_ at the fox and wolf, who now had no choice but to raise their own paws in surrender. All under the gaze of a smiling Kyle.

* * *

Delgato reacted in instinct, pulling the trigger and firing two darts into the leaping lion. Two hit him square in the chest, but the lion barely minded them. He moved through the air, past Delgato, and straight in direction to Bogo.

The lion tackled him, sending both himself and the buffalo to the ground.

"Chief!" Delgato cried out, and Bogo grunted as Fera bit on his arm, trying to get into his flesh. However, the teeth barely went to go through the armor on his arm. Bogo felt really thankful for the thick covering that was the advanced equipment of the ZPD, and for it being strong enough to resist claws and teeth like the ones of the mad lion.

Bogo had lost his rifle when he was tackled to the ground, and he had to resort to using his fists against the lion. With a closed hooved fist, Bogo punched the lion in the face as hard as he could. He was sure that it was going to leave a heavy bruise, but the lion didn't let go. There was a maddened look in his eyes as he continued trying to sink his fangs in the buffalo's arms.

Meanwhile, Delgato continued to fire darts into the lion, always being careful not to hit Chief Bogo. The last thing he needed now was something like that going on his permanent record. Six darts had hit the lion already, but he seemed to still not have affected by the tranquilizers.

 _Crap. Is he high on something?_ Bogo thought as he saw the way that the lion was resisting, and the maddened look on his eyes. The buffalo was even starting to wonder if the armor on his arm was going to resist. He had to get the lion out of himself.

Using his free arm, Bogo put his hooves around the muzzle of the lion, and he squeezed as hard as he could. The lion only had one good arm as well as the other was seemingly dislocated, and the other arm was focused into holding Bogo's arm in place. The buffalo squeezed at the base jaw of the lion hard, to force him to open it. It was hard, for a moment Bogo wondered if he would feel the bones giving in under his hooves before the mouth actually started to open.

However, this did not happened, as the pressure in the maw finally made the lion open it, letting go of Bogo's arm. The big bovine saw his chance in there, and he immediately freed his arm, making a swift movement as he slammed the big feline into his chest on the mat. Bogo was now putting him into a hold as the cat tried to struggle free, growling, roaring and cursing.

"Chief!" Delgato came, going right next to the big mammal. "You alright? Your arm…"

"I'm fine." Bogo said, as he continued to hold Fera down into the mat. "Get a pair of cuffs for him, reinforced ones. And get a muzzle too."

Fera continued to roar as he was forced into the ground, and Bogo was forced to slam him into the ground to make him stay down. The lion growled, and then started to mumble.

"You did it to him… You did it… It is all your fault…"

"What?" Bogo asked.

"My brother… My brother… He is dead… He is gone… It is all your fault… You killed my brother…" Fera continued to mumble, he looked up, hate in his eyes. "I'll make you pay… I'll make you all pay…"

Bogo looked down at the mammal he was pinning. At the hate on his eyes as he looked at the buffalo. At the way he bared his teeth in fury as he said these words. And at the great amount of blood that was coming out of his nose.

* * *

"I take a lot of precautions for these events." Kyle said at the two mammals, who were now on their knees, their paws on their heads, as two other bears pointed actual guns to their heads from behind.

"I make sure to keep the entire thing as hush-hush as possible. I make sure to let everyone know how important it is to keep secret so these events can happen. Still, sometimes someone just talks."

He turned at the two animals, and he said:

"So, who was the one who talked?"

None of them said a thing. They only kept looking at the bear, who simply accepted their silence and continued.

"I really hate when people talk what they should not. Especially when they talk to the cops." He spoke. "This will cause me so much problem… I'm going to have to find new places. To reinforce the security. To made double insurances to all the involved that there will be no danger of the cops coming in again. So much trouble."

"Well, you kind of deserve it." Wolfard said, and the bear behind him pressed the barrel of the gun harder on his head, letting him know that he should not talk. Nick had a few remarks himself, but he knew better than to just start talking now. They were in trouble enough already.

The bear chuckled. "Yeah, many mammals are very brave, at least until they have a gun pointed at them. A _real_ gun." He said, and proceeded.

"That is a point where the ZPD is not very good. They carry darts instead of bullets. Of course, it is efficient and politically correct; still, a gun with bullets makes a much better way of making others comply. They know that when they black out from the bullets they will never wake up anymore."

Another wave of silence filled the place, and the bear said:

"So, you two will really not tell me who was the one that babbled?"

Silence. The two canines only kept staring at the bear, who sighed.

"Very well." He reached out on his suit, and pulled out a long and mean looking knife.

Both animals felt a cold feeling run down their spines, both because of the dagger and of the way that the bear's eyes were shining as he looked at the two of them.

"I did promised an associate of mine that I would have the pelts of the responsible for what happened tonight." He said, passing a finger over the edge of the blade, a wicked smile forming on his muzzle as he did. "And I am a mammal of my word."

Even Nick was unable to hide his worry at what this was implying.

"So, who would like to be first?" The bear said, as he approached the two, his knife ready to taste blood.

That was when something distracted him.

"What?" The bear said, as something fluttered on his way.

A butterfly. With blue wings.

"What is…? Get off! Shoo!" The bear said, waving his paw in front of his face to scare the butterfly away. However, that didn't seemed to work. Actually, it seemed that it only led the butterfly to fly harder against his face.

The mammals who were in there looked at it surprised. Nick the most of all, as his memory suddenly moved back to the previous night.

_I-it is… No, it can't be…_

"Why, you…" The bear said, waving his paw faster, now looking like he wanted to swat the butterfly. "Pesky… little…" The bear said, getting mad. "Annoying… bug…" He said, and now he actually swung his paw to swat the butterfly.

That was when something unexpected happened.

"Gah!" The bear cried out, stumbling back and dropping down the knife as his paw went to hold the other. In the illumination of the empty street, it was possibly to see blood leaking down from the paw of the bear, coming from a gash that had opened suddenly.

"W-what…" Kyle mumbled, as shocked as the animals who were looking at him. He looked over, and saw the butterfly hoovering close to his face. As the butterfly moved, the bear suddenly cried out and stepped back once more. There was a new cut, this one on his cheek, and it was leaking blood.

"What the hell!?" The bear said, and the butterfly floated near him again. This time, a cut appeared on his forearm as the butterfly fluttered over it. The cut had penetrated the cloth of his suit, reached the skin, and even penetrate into the flesh, or so one could suppose by the amount of blood that was coming from the bear's arm.

The butterfly continued to flutter to the bear, and each time it got close, a wound opened into the body of the ursine, causing him to cry out in pain. All of that under the baffled gaze of the four mammals.

"Stop it! Stop it! Someone do something!" The bear cried out, as he threw himself to the ground, the butterfly still flying to him, more wounds opening into the body of the bear as he did, blood was leaking from them and staining the suit that the bear wore. "Someone help me!"

The animals continued to look, until yet another voice broke then out of their stupor.

"Look at that!"

The eyes of the mammals turned to the direction of the trapdoor, as a familiar (to Nick) coyote emerged through it.

"Out of the warehouse and out of trouble! I told you it was a good idea to follow these bears!" Hudson Coyle said to someone who was coming behind himself, before he was forcefully pushed out of the hole and a big tiger came right after. The big feline rose his eyes, and he saw a scene before him, something that Hudson soon saw himself.

A fox and a wolf, the wolf seemed to be a sheep from the neck down, with two bears on suits pointing guns at their heads, and a third bear on the ground, crying out form pain as he tried to get up, a butterfly flying near him. Other two bears lay unconscious on the ground, with darts on their bodies.

"Ummmm, are we interrupting something?" Coyle asked.

Kyle groaned and got up, scrambling away from the butterfly, looking at it as if it wanted his soul. The other bears were confused, as well as the two canines.

"Well, if you guys are busy, I guess we will be going now…"

"You won't go anywhere!" The bear said, aiming his gun away from Nick, and at the coyote. Nick saw an opportunity, and immediately ran for his dart gun, and only Wolfard actually saw it.

"Really?" the coyote asked. "I just want to leave and you point a gun at me?"

"Stay right where you are!" The bear said, not noticing that the fox he had been pointing at was reaching out for his own weapon. "If you move I'm gonna shot you!"

Coyle looked at the tiger, who just said:

"If he wants trouble, then give him trouble." The tiger looked at the bear, who now pointed a gun at him. The tiger casually reached out for his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. "He is just a mundane. You can take care of it easily." He looked at the coyote as he lighted the cigarette. "Unless, of course, you are too weak."

The coyote seemed to take it as an offense. He looked at the bear, and said once again. "Okay, I just wanna leave so I'll have no problems! But if you keep pointing that at me then YOU will have problems."

"You mangy mutt!" The bear said, giving a step further, getting his gun ready. As the *click* sounded, Coyle immediately reacted, reaching out for something inside his shirt, and pulling out… a long tread of red rope.

What happened next was so fast that some of the mammals in there didn't had time to register it.

The other end of the rope shot forward, and tied around the wrist of the bear. With a movement of the end that was on his paw, Coyle made the bear point his gun to the sky, right before the bear pulled the trigger, shooting at the sky. Right after, the ursine cried out in pain as the rope suddenly dig into his fur and flesh, causing him pain. The gun dropped from his paw, and then, Coyle pulled the rope once more.

The rope pulled the paw down, and then, with another movement, the rope moved the paw right against the bear's face. Once. Twice. Thrice. With a fourth movement of the roped paw, the bear dropped to the ground, unconscious.

The rope untied from his wrist, and retracted back to Coyle, who held it like a whip. He looked over at the other bear, who was looking at him baffled, along with the wolf (but Coyle did not gave the wolf very much attention).

"What about you?" Coyle asked him, and the bear looked at him, before turning around and running. However, the bear was not able to get far, as Coyle immediately made a movement, causing the rope to shot forward and tie itself around the torso of the bear. With another movement, the bear was push backwards, towards Coyle. Then, with an upward movement, the bear was raise from the ground, only to be slam back into the ground with force.

The bear coughed up, some blood coming from his mouth, and he immediately lost consciousness.

"How about that for weak?" The coyote said to the tiger, who just puffed at his cigarette with indifference.

Meanwhile, Kyle had witnessed that. The bear was scared, and he turned around, ready to leave that place, when a dart hit him into the arm, causing him to immediately drop unconscious.

Nick kept his dart gun pointed at Kyle for a few moments, before he turned it to the other animals in there. With his other hand, he picked up the other dart gun.

"Wolfard!" Nick said; causing the wolf to look at him as Nick tossed the dart gun at the wolf, who swiftly caught it, and soon, following Nick's lead, was pointing it at the two mammals.

"Seriously?" The tiger said; sounding annoyed as he saw the two mammals that were pointing dart guns at him. He seemed a lot calmer than the coyote, who suddenly looked meek, even after he had just taken out two bears holding guns.

"Okay…" Nick said, "None of you move." He spoke to the indifferent tiger and the scared coyote. "Drop the rope."

The coyote obeyed immediately, putting his paws up and letting the rope drop into the ground.

"Are you seriously trying to pull that up, Russet?" The tiger asked as he looked at Nick.

Both of the animals were focused mostly on the fox, to the point where Wolfard almost felt like he was being ignored.

"Oh, yeah, I am." Nick said, and continued to point his gun at the tiger, ready to fire if the big feline trying to make a lunge for him. "Now, both of you, put your paws on your heads and get on your knees."

Coyle was quick to obey, getting on his knees and placing both of his paws on his head, what seem to annoy the tiger even more.

"Stop doing what he says!" The tiger said to the coyote.

"We cannot make him mad, dude!" The coyote said back.

"We have no reason to humor him! He is nothing!" The tiger said back at him.

"I'm right here, dudes." Nick said, to them.

"So am I." Wolfard said, now getting really tired of people behaving as if he was a fly on the wall. "And we are getting you two under arrest."

The tiger looked at him, a scowl on his face. "Oh, really?" He asked the wolf, locking eyes with him. "I'd like to see you try. You mundane scum."

"Okay, I'm not sure what that meant, but you better apologize for this later." The wolf said, still pointing the dart gun at the tiger. "Now, on your knees and paws on your head!"

"You better do what he says." Nick said to the tiger. "His aim with that is rather good, and the sedatives give you a pounding headache when you wake up."

The tiger turned his head back at the fox, and the expression on his eyes was one of disdain. He walked calmly in the fox's direction, making Nick stand on guard.

"What do you think you will gain from this, Russet?" The tiger asked him, and Nick continued to look at him.

"You really should not come much closer." Nick said, but the tiger ignored him, and pressed on:

"What is this all? What is all of that you are doing? What are you trying to accomplish?" The tiger asked the fox. "Is this some personal quest? Some way you found of making fame? Is this a mission that you are doing for someone? Is a game you are playing to pass your time? What is the meaning behind all of this?"

"I'm just doing my job." Nick said to him. "The job I've committed to do when I joined the ZPD."

The tiger continued to look at him, as if he was trying to see past the façade and into the truth behind the fox.

"Is that so?" The tiger said slowly. "Is it about helping the mundanes with their business?" The tiger pressed. "IS this a personal mission? Do you owe something to someone? Or are you actually trying to gain something on the long run? It could be, but I seriously fail to see what joining the mundane authorities could help you with."

"I decided to turn my life around." Nick said. "Someone came and showed me that I could do more with my life, not that this is any of your business." The fox continued to point that dart gun at the tiger.

"So, you are one of the ones who decided to turn their lives around?" The tiger said, his voice carrying even more disdain. "What, did you failed so many times that you see no longer reason to be part of the moonlit world? Did you gave up and found something else to pass your time? Another thing to give meaning to your life?"

The tiger gave a single more step forward.

"One more step and I'll dart you!"

"You still haven't answered me!" The tiger demanded, "What are you trying to accomplish here, Russet?"

"Right now I'm trying to capture a pair of weird mammals so I can get some answers from them!" Nick said to the tiger. "And my name is Wilde! _Officer_ Wilde to you!"

This seemed to really tick the tiger off, as his face morphed to one of purest rage, and the tiger let out a small roar as he raises hi foot from the ground. Nick was about to pull the trigger and dart the tiger on the spot, but the tiger was faster, slamming his foot back into the ground with full force.

Right next, Nick and Wolfard both were force backwards as the ground beneath their feet expanded, cracked and practically exploded. Pieces of concrete and soil flew into the air as a crater formed, and the two officers were blast backwards, their dart guns flying out of their paws as they fell into the ground, dazed and trying to understand what had just happened.

"What the…" Nick said, as he recovered first, and he looked at the place where they were, to see that a crater had formed in there, as the ground seemed to have opened and expanded, pieces of jagged concrete projecting like stalagmites from around the crater.

Nick blinked as Wolfard also recovered, and they both looked to see the angry look of the tiger, who was still looking at them.

"I didn't planned to go into a fight tonight." The tiger said, "But I really have reached my last never with you, fox!" The tiger said, and as he spoke, he clenched his paws into fists, and Nick could swear that the ground underneath him was shaking.

The tiger seemed about to do something when...

"Gah!" The tiger said in surprise, taking a paw to his arm. The tiger winced, and pulled a paw to see it smeared in blood, which was leaking from a wound that had just opened into his arm.

"What?" The tiger said, and then something caught his eye. It was a blue butterfly, fluttering around him. The tiger followed the small fluttering insect with his eyes, and saw it flutter close to his leg, and pass by it. He winced as another wound opened on his leg, forcing him to take a step back.

The tiger looked at the butterfly. Suddenly, another fluttered around his face, and as it did, it opened a wound on his cheek, what made him roar in pain and anger. He would have done something about that, if he didn't felt three more wounds opening on his body: one on his back, one on the outside of his thigh, and another on his other shoulder. Near each wound, there was a blue butterfly fluttering.

He was surrounded.

"What is this!?" The tiger demanded, as the fluttering insects surrounded him. "Russet! What is the meaning of this!?" The tiger demanded, looking at the fox. "Are these your familiars!?"

He seemed to have failed to notice the confused and surprised look in the eyes of the fox, and he didn't had time to ponder over it, as more wounds were opened on his body as the butterflies continued to flutter around him.

"Stop it! Stop it!" The tiger said, trying to swat them, but only getting more cuts on his body. The three other animals looked at it, and soon, the coyote decided to do something about that.

"Hang on, Zane!" The coyote said, picking up the red rope from the ground, and waving in the air. In that instant, the red rope started to glow, and it erupted in flames.

The coyote swung the flaming rope, making it move around the tiger, who was now crouching in the ground, shielding himself with both arms. Now, if it was from the butterflies or from the flames, one could only guess.

Nick and Wolfard both looked at the scene that was developing in front of them, looking as the coyote used the flaming rope to kill the deadly butterflies that were surrounding the crouching tiger.

"That is it, I give up!" Wolfard said to no one in particular, and Nick was force to agree with him. The fox looked at the two mammals, who seemed really distracted, and he looked at the trapdoor, still open.

"So, wanna get out of here?" Nick said to the wolf, and the canine followed his gaze at the trapdoor. The wolf nodded, and the two canines took advantage of the distraction of the two other mammals so they could sneak around them, and move to the trapdoor.

"Hold still!" The coyote cried out. "I'm trying to get all of them!"

The tiger winced and cried out something back at the coyote, but neither Nick nor Wolfard paid it very much attention. They were more focused into going down the trapdoor and back to the place where the other officers were.

Nick was already down the last steps, and Wolfard was ready to go in, when suddenly they heard:

"They are escaping!" The tiger's voice shouted.

"Run!" Nick said immediately, he dashed forward, and Wolfard jumped the steps of the trapdoor and was now rushing after the fox, who had a head start. However, he didn't went far, for a coil of red rope snaked down into the hole and wrapped around his neck.

* * *

The operation had been hard, but it was completely successful, and soon the officers gathered to see the outcome of the busting.

Many mammals captured, including the two fighters, and no casualties.

However, two officers were not present in there.

When Bogo explained that Nick and Wolfard had both gone through an underground path to find a runaway suspect, Judy didn't knew what to think. It was like in the alley days ago, when Nick went without backup.

Now he had Wolfard, of course, but that didn't changed the fact that he was after possibly dangerous suspects. Also, there was the fact that neither of them was answering to the radio, possibly because they were too far for the pieces they were using to make contact. The things had a limited range.

As his partner, and his friend, Judy did what she could think of: dashed into the trapdoor and went in there, with Eliot Fanghanel and Ellen Fangmeyer coming right behind her.

The rest of the officers remained to book and take in the suspects, while Judy dashed to find her partner.

* * *

_That really happened!_ Was the thought on Nick's mind. _That really happened and I saw it! I'm not sure of what I saw, but I'm sure that I saw it happen._

Nick continued to dash on the dark tunnel, his night vision helping him considerably.

"That was crazy, wasn't it?" Nick said as he panted and continued to dash. "Guess we will both will have something interesting to put on our reports, right, Howler?"

Nick expected something to be said in return by his comment, but there was only silence.

"Howler?" Nick said and, for the first time since he started running, he looked back. He saw only an empty tunnel behind himself.

Nick immediately stopped running and looked around.

"Howler?" Nick called. "Wolfard?"

No answer.

 _Did… did I left him behind? Oh, crap!_ Nick thought, starting to feel a terrible feeling creeping up in the mouth of his stomach.

"Howler?" Nick called out once more, as the feeling got bigger. "Wolfard!?" He cried out, and he was about to make his way running back, aiming to find his wolf friend, when the familiar voice of the bigger canine came.

"I'm here!"

Soon, a figure of a wolf came running into the tunnel, and Nick was able to recognize the wolf.

"Sorry! One of them reached me and I had to get free from him." The wolf said, and Nick was able to breathe with relief for seeing that the wolf was okay. Still, Nick was feeling pretty awful for having left him behind like that.

"It was the coyote?" Nick asked him. "Did he used the rope?"

"Yeah, I felt rope around my neck." Wolfard admitted. "I couldn't even cry out for help. I think the guy was actually trying to straggle me."

Nick would have pressed the matter, however, something distracted him, as his ears picked up noise. There was someone coming from the other side of the tunnel.

"They are right here!" A familiar voice came, followed by a voice that was just as familiar.

"Nick? Nick! Are you there?"

"Carrots!" Nick cried back. "Right here!"

Soon the three officers reached the other two. Judy was the one who first reached the two. She was carrying her cellphone, using its light to light the path, once she didn't had good night vision like Nick. When she saw Nick, she immediately rushed to him and hugged the tod.

"Nick! You big idiot!" She said to him. "Are you okay?" She asked, and Nick was quick to tranquilize her, saying that he was just fine and that he had not got hurt. Nick thought it was better not to let her know that he had an actual gun pointed at his head, not yet, at least.

Soon, the other two reached the group.

"See, I told you I could find them!" Fanghanel said to the bunny. "This nose can pick a scent miles away." The wolf said with pride.

"Didn't you two went after the suspects?" Fangmeyer asked.

"We did, but things got complicated and we had to get out of there fast."

"Did they posed a threat?"

"Actually, we kind of had the situation under control in the start." Nick said, "But them some guys crashed into the party and everything got a mess very fast."

"Some strange mammals arrived and started a fight with the suspects." Wolfard added. "We had to get out of there quick. One of them tried to grab me but I escaped."

"You let yourself be caught?" Fangmeyer asked him, her tone seemed worried.

"The guy came from behind! I had no way of predicting it! I got rid of him fast though."

"Where are they?" She asked him once more.

"On the other end of the tunnel." Wolfard said. "Turn left, then right, then left again and go straight ahead. You will find a staircase that leads to a trapdoor. It ends in an empty street. There are five bears unconscious in there. The ones who attacked might be in there too, be careful, there are three of them."

"Right." Fangmeyer said, "Fanghanel, with me." She said, and the wolf nodded, and soon, they both were making it there.

"Be careful." The wolf said to them as they went, leaving the other three mammals in there.

"You two sure you are okay?" Judy insisted, and Nick had once more to assure her that he was okay, but still, she insisted into them going back so they would get checked. Soon, the three were making their way back into the tunnel, with the bunny in front leading them.

Well, it seemed that the night was over. Still, there was one thing…

"Wolfard?" Nick said to the wolf, who was walking by his side. "Why did you said that there were _three_ of them?"

"Because there was." Wolfard said, seeming confused. "The one who cut Kyle up, remember?"

"You counting that butterfly too?" Nick said, "It will be interesting seeing them take it in for questioning".

Wolfard looked at the fox. "Butterfly?"

"Yeah, the blue butterfly that was cutting Kyle up when it flew near him." Nick said to him. "And, that later called a lot of its friends to pick up at that tiger. You know, before the coyote swung the flaming rope at them."

Wolfard had stopped, and now he was staring at the fox.

"Wilde… what are you talking about?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a key point in the story. It is where things start to get more interesting.
> 
> Usually a friend of mine does the proofreading, but this time I did it myself. Also, I rewrote the ending. Sorry if it is not very good or if the grammar is not the best, hope you guys can still enjoy it.
> 
> Please, read and review, and no flaming.


	9. Visitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick cannot forget what he has witnessed, and he looks for answers. This quest leads him to talk to someone he would rather leave in the past...

Paperwork was still Nick's particular boogeymammal.

Seriously, the fox had no idea on how much paperwork was involved into the police work… Okay, he was a little bit. But just from hearing and seeing it on television, but having to go through the paperwork every day was another matter entirely for Nick. One that he soon found to be his least favorite part of the work as a cop. That was something that he surely could agree with Judy.

Nick had just finished the last of his files, and he was able to stretch himself in his chair as he popped his joints.

Whew! Finally, that was over.

Now, for another matter…

Nick closed the archives he was working on, and continued on to his own personal research.

He had just finished looking in the ZPD's archives for the name "Coyle". The name that Hudson Coyle had gave him.

Once again, Nick had little results on the matter. And by 'little', we meant that there was, once more, no results on the matter about Hudson Coyle or any relative of his. What was strange, for the way that the coyote had talked about himself and his family, it seemed that they had done something…

"Hey, Wilde!" A voice called Nick, making him snap out of his thoughts, and he turned head from his computer to look at the owner of the voice, who was a familiar timber wolf, now out of his freakishly realistic sheep costume.

"Hey, Howler." Nick complimented him back. "So, not baking on that coat of wool today?"

"Nah, they decided that it was better if I stayed far from doing undercover work." The wolf said to the fox. "At least for now, since some guys saw that it was a disguise, they think that if I go out now it could end up compromising me. I'm stuck with desk duty for a while."

"Yeah, I feel your pain." Nick said sympathetic, as he gestured to his own computer. Desk duty was surely a less-glamorous part of the police work, but a needed one. Still, it didn't stopped Nick from feeling bored while he did it.

"Well, at least you can still go out in regular patrols." The wolf said to the fox. "Chief is still gnawing at my ears for 'upholding meaningful information'. I'll be stuck in desk duty for a while."

"Yeah, Buffalo-Butt surely does not goes easy on anyone." Nick admitted. He could still remember the look of cold reprobation in the cape buffalo's face as he asked the wolf to talk to him in private. As well as the meek look of fear in the wolf's face as he walked with the Chief to his office.

"It's been three days already." Nick added, and Wolfard sighed.

"Yeah, I guess the fact that I allowed someone to sneak up on me is kind of aggravating. So is the fact that I left my dart gun behind while I was running, my partner is also giving me a hard time because of that, especially because she now is in desk duty too."

"Hey, I lost my dart gun too." Nick said, being supportive to the wolf. "My partner is not letting me go easy as well."

"Yeah… partners, huh?" The wolf said, and Nick could only nod. The wolf then continued:

"Well, at least we got everyone who was in that place, including Kyle and his bodyguards, huh?"

"Yeah, that we did." Nick agreed. "He is still refusing to talk?"

"According to what I heard, he is asking for a deal in exchange for any information." Wolfard said, "The guy is though."

"Yeah, he looks like it." Nick said, and after a while more of silence, he asked, "Did he said anything else… about that night?"

"You mean, the night he was captured? Nothing much, but he keeps grumbling about 'skinning that koala if he ever sees him again'." Wolfard said to the fox. "He is still insisting in the 'koala' thing. It was a weasel who cut him with a knife! We both saw it, right?"

"Sure did." Nick said. "With the coyote and tiger. Still can't believe we can't find them."

"They probably are not in the system." Wolfard said. "But we gave a good description of them. I'm sure that someone will find something and tell us. We will get these three."

 _If you count the blue butterfly too._ Nick thought, but did not spoke it out loud. He knew better, after all.

Nick could remember the night when they were in front of the Chief to tell what happened. Luckily, he didn't separated them, because otherwise Nick would not have any idea of what to say to the buffalo.

Nick had seen some things that he could not explain, and he was sure that describing them to someone else would sound really strange. Wolfard, on the other paw, had described something that was far more believable.

He told them that they were in danger of Kyle skinning them alive, when a weasel had come out of nowhere and started to slice the bear up with a hunting knife. Kyle was big and strong, but the weasel as far faster, and was able to overwhelm the bear with a very sharp knife. Some animals would take a weasel beating a bear with a grain of salt, but Bogo already knew that Judy had managed to knock out a rhino during her time in the academy, so he was most inclined to believe it. Especially when he heard that right after the bear had been darted.

He then described how a coyote and tiger, both who seemed to be with the weasel, came out and started to fight the bears. The coyote used a piece of rope to fight the bears, but it was mostly the tiger who knocked both of them out. They had their dart guns back, and seemed to have the other animals in their sight, when the coyote pulled out some explosive and threw it at them. They had to dive out of the way to escape from the explosion, which opened a hole in the street. In the process, they lost their dart guns once more.

The tiger looked that he was about to go for them, when the weasel started to discuss with him, and they both got into a fight, with the weasel attacking the tiger with the knife while the tiger tried to maul him back. The coyote even had to interfere to try to separate them. This was when Nick and Wolfard had both used their chance to run away.

Of course, they were seen trying to leave, and they had to make a break for it. That was when someone – probably the coyote – sneaked up on Wolfard from behind and put a rope around his neck. The wolf was held back and was unable to call for Nick's help, and the fox continued his way, thinking that the wolf was right behind him.

Luckily, Wolfard had managed to escape by elbowing the yote in the stomach and sending a closed paw on his snout, but he had to run for the tiger and weasel were coming right back. He met up with Nick right in the moment when the fox had realized that the wolf had stayed behind and was about to go back to help him. After that, they were found by Hopps, Fanghanel and Fangmeyer.

Nick had pretty much confirmed what the wolf said, and filled in the pieces that the wolf had left blank. It seemed like the reasonable thing to do, once telling him what he actually remembered, which was totally different from what the wolf had described, would have been really awkward, to say the least.

Nick was used to hide his emotions behind a mask when he needed, and right at that moment, Nick was forced to put his mask back. What the wolf described was perfectly reasonable and possible, especially when compared to what Nick himself had seen back there. He knew that it was not an option to tell them his own version of the facts after Wolfard gave his'. So, Nick did the best reasonable thing he could do: smile, nod and go along with whatever the wolf said.

Now, many other mammals would have thought of confronting the wolf on what he was saying, even if it was later, when they were alone. However, Nick had a feeling that this was not going to give positive results, for two reasons:

Reason one: when Nick mentioned the event when they were following Judy into the tunnel the wolf looked at him strange, it seemed that he had no idea of what the fox was talking about, as if he did not see the same things that the fox did. Reason two: Nick was really good at reading others, and while he was looking at Wolfard with his mask while the wolf told them his version of the facts, the wolf didn't even flinched for a second, it was as if he truly believed that what he was saying to them was truth.

These two things combined gave Nick the very distinctive feeling that Wolfard seemed to truly believe that what he told the Chief that happened was exactly what he _believed_ that had happened.

Now, while Nick had maintained his façade during the talk with the Chief, and later on, inside he was feeling quite confused. How could it be that the wolf simply forgot what he just witnessed and replaced it with something else?

Saying that the bear was attacked by a weasel instead of a butterfly? That the tiger had mostly beat up the bears when it was the coyote with the use of his red rope? That the coyote had threw an explosive at them when the ground simply exploded when the tiger stomped?

Could it be that he simply had forgotten all of that? Was this the famous thing that he heard about mammals suppressing or replacing memories if they were too traumatic? Could it be that the wolf got so scared that he simply blocked what he saw?

Or was it something else?

Nick could not forget that Wolfard had stayed behind and was caught by the guys. Over the past few days, he had been thinking if his amnesia could having been caused by these animals. That somehow they had managed to change his memories.

Now, Nick knew that it was far-fetched, and he knew that many would probably question his sanity if he spoke that aloud. Still, the more Nick thought about the matter, the more it seemed actually reasonable. Especially considering Kyle's situation.

The bear also had witnessed part of what happened. Heck, he had been the one who the butterfly had nearly cut to death. When he woke up, Nick had the feeling that he would give them his version of the facts, which would match Nick's. However, the bear told them – with some reservations – pretty much the same story that Wolfard had said, with only a few minor inconsistencies – the biggest one being the species of the animal who attacked him with a knife.

The two stories were consistent, despite the differences, and they almost made it seem that this truly was what had happened. Of course, many mammals would question their own memories over the course of so many facts. Nick, however, was not one of these mammals. Nick was not the kind who would question his own memories, or his own sanity, for that matter. He was not the kind who could easily be convinced that he was wrong over something, with one of the rare examples being how he changed his whole view of life and even his career thanks to a certain grey bunny.

Nick was sure of what he had seen. He was sure of what had happened and that it had been real.

No one would convince him otherwise.

"Wilde?" Wolfard's voice broke Nick from his reflection, and the fox looked back at him. "You have been silent for a while, you are feeling okay?"

Nick blinked at him, and had the same sly smile he was always wearing on his muzzle. "Yeah, just fine, just a lot to think lately."

Wolfard looked at him, and he looked like he had not been convinced.

"It is not about McChill, is it?" The wolf asked, and the fox said nothing.

McChill was an older cop of the force, a polar bear. He was an old-fashioned officer of the ZPD, one that was callous and, let's say, "really old-school". The guy had a lot of prejudices, including in regarding other species. He was famous for being a good and competent officer, but also for being speciest. He was among the ones who did not took it well that smaller species were joining the ZPD, and he had even more problem into having a fox as a brother in blue.

He never hid his opinions about Nick and he used to say to others that it was only a matter of time before the fact that they were employing a fox would come back to bite them.

In the past days, it seemed that his opinion on Nick had become more incisive, since he "abandoned" a fellow officer.

"This was bound to happen, you know?" Nick had once hear the bear said in the hallways. "That is how foxes do. They get close to you while is convenient to them, but as soon as things get ugly they turn tail and run to save their pelts. This is not prejudice, you know? I learned that from years of being a cop. They are the kinds of mammals who only care about themselves, and they would throw their own parents under a bus to save themselves. Of course that having a fox in the force was a mistake."

Nick felt like giving him a piece of his mind, but he had learned soon that things like that were better be ignored. Also, it was not like Nick needed to actually say or do anything in the matter, once he had his own personal guardian angel in the force.

Nick could still remember the shocked surprise on the polar bear's face when the small grey bunny jumped on him and swung her body in a way that it used his own weight to slam him into a table. She stood over his chest and gave him a good scolding for talking about her partner like that. That he should not talk about a fellow officer like that, and that this kind of speciest speech was a crime on itself and totally unfitting of the behavior of a police officer.

It had really paid off to see that big and proud polar bear being talked down by a bunny. It seemed to have prevented the bear from making more comments like that within earshot. Still, Nick could notice the dirty glares that the burly bear was giving him and Judy.

"Just ignore him." Wolfard said to the fox. "The guy has a lot of sticks up his butt, most of it just stupid non-sense. All the guys in here learned not to listen to him anymore."

"Yeah, I imagine." Nick said, and he continued with his usual indifferent front. However, due to the time he spent in the force, some officers already learned to recognize when he was using his mask.

"No one blames you." Wolfard said, reassuring the fox. "It was my fault being caught. You was ready to go back as soon as you saw I was not following. Everyone knows it."

Nick looked at the wolf, nodding. The fox was actually feeling quite glad that the wolf was saying that. Truth to be told, Nick still felt bad with himself for not noticing that the wolf had been left behind, and that he, as the one who was paired with him, should have been the one to keep an eye on the canine to be sure that he was okay and coming with him.

Having the wolf himself say that Nick did not faulted did not removed the regret lingering in him, but it did made Nick feel a little better to know that the wolf had no hard feelings on him.

"So, what time is it?" Nick asked, and the wolf looked on his watch.

"A quarter to ten."

"Oh, it is my time already." Nick said, looking at the computer. "And I finished right on time."

"Good for you." Wolfard said. "So, now you have all day to relax. One of the perks of being nocturnal."

In fact, Nick had taken a night swift with his partner that day. The night shift was less agitated than the day one. However, you would be surprised on how much things can happen at night, once many mammals were nocturnal by nature. They basically made rounds on their vehicle in the near empty streets, and then came back to deal with paperwork. It was not Judy's favorite thing, even because she was not used to being nocturnal, and she needed some amount of coffee to remain active and awake during that time, while Nick didn't had much difficulty.

Now, it was only a while before his shift was to finish, and Nick had already finished the paperwork that was reserved to him. That meant that Nick could use this little chance to sneak away earlier before Buffalo-Butt got the wiser. After all, he did needed some time for himself.

"Well, guess I'll be going." Nick said, turning off his computer.

"Don't forget to get your partner." Wolfard said to him.

"Actually, I'll be going on my own today." Nick said. "Hopps put herself to work on extra-hours today. She really wants to finish the files on the mammals that she darted in the busting, and you know how she is."

"Oh yeah." The wolf admitted. "Everyone knows how much of a hard worker Officer Hopps is. The Chief even says that we should follow her example sometimes. Do you know how rare is for him to say something like that about anyone?"

"Can only imagine." Nick said, and he was already getting off his chair and walking out. "Well, I'm gonna be on my way before Buffalo-Butt decides that I need to be with my partner in her extra hours."

"You say. So, any plans for your day?"

"Gonna be visiting an old acquaintance." Nick said with salute as he made his way to the dressing rooms.

As Nick walked, he sighed, and once more, he was glad that he was a master of poker face. Wolfard noticed that Nick was wearing his mask, and he assume that it was because of McChill, he didn't noticed that Nick was far too focused into the matter of what happened to them in the night of the busting.

Nick could not forget what he had seen. He could not forget what he had seen and heard into the place.

Nick could not simply let go of what he saw in there. He wanted some answers. He wanted to make some sense of what he saw in there. He didn't had anyone to back his story, so he was basically on his own in what came to this. Well, it was not like being on his own on a matter was something new to Nick.

The fox had spent his free times in the next days trying to find answers to what he had witnessed, which included trying to find those two mammals. Looking up at the name of Hudson Coyle had not gave him the leads that he needed, for it seemed that the guy never had been caught by any crime. He even researched the name 'Coyle' around, and all that he found was a smaller business of sports equipment owned by a coyote named "Marco Coyle". He even noted it as something that could possibly be related.

There was also the tiger, who Nick still remembered the coyote calling "Zane". However, this also led nowhere. The tiger also seemed not to have records of any kind. Nick even went as far as contacting Finnick and asking him if he knew said tiger, and the fennec only said that it did not rang any bells, but he promised to try to find more answers.

Also, there was the butterfly. However, that was possibly the less solid of all leads.

After all, it was a detail that Wolfard seemed to have absolutely no recollection off. It was a bug that seemed to be capable of murdering mammals, and that on itself was something impossible, according to the common sense.

The strangest thing about that butterfly was that Nick was sure that it was the very same butterfly that had companied Nick to his apartment in the night immediately previous of the busting. Not that it helped in the least. In fact, it only made the thing seemed even less reasonable.

It was not a solid lead. Actually, it was barely even a lead at all. Still, Nick followed it. Kind of…

The fox made the occasional research on butterflies, and most of it led him to websites about nature and of bug lovers. Nick even tried one or another more specific research, like "butterflies that kill mammals", and the most that he got was the link to a website of fictional stories, and some stories about invading aliens that looked like butterflies.

Of course it would lead him nowhere…

It seemed that all the things that Nick could try and follow to try and reach answers was not working. The names of the animals in there and the butterfly, which were the one things that could be considered leads, took him nowhere. He even tried to research a few things that he had picked up with his talk with the two mammals earlier, like "freelancer" and "clans". He even tried something like "Clan Wilde", and he got nothing that could really be considered solid. He did, however, found out that there was a "Wilde Clan" in the past, a family of noble foxes. That was a surprise for Nick, and it gave some ground to what the tiger had said about "important clans". Still, nothing truly solid.

Nick's hopes into finding something that would lead him to answers were diminishing the more he looked, as all that he could go after seemed not to lead anywhere.

However, not all was lost. For Nick still had one lead based on the talks he had in the night of the fight. It was one that he was not sure if he should follow hidden, but was one that seemed to actually be able to lead somewhere. Especially because of the way that the information had been presented to him.

That was a lead that could possibly take him somewhere. And that was what Nick was going to follow now.

* * *

Nick had been quick to lose his police uniform and put on his regular clothing, namely, a red pawaiian shirt, a part of indigo pants, and a yellow tie on his neck. Nick had always loved ties, and he was used to wear them. He liked them because they made him seem professional, and this helped others trust him. It was something from the times when he was still a street hustler, and it had became an especial part of his attire. Nick went as far as to think that without a tie he felt naked.

Walking out, Nick casually walked to the street and in direction to the subway. He barely minded the dirty looks of some other animals in there, undoubtedly not liking to have a fox nearby, and some of them walked away from him or pulled their belongings closer to themselves as Nick walked near. Nick was used to this kind of thing, and right now, he barely even minded any of these mammals. He had more important things to worry about now.

Nick was on his way to somewhere that he would prefer not to go on his free time. Still, he had a lead that he needed to follow.

Zootopia was a big city, and big cities had nearly everything. From commercial centers to cemeteries. Passing by gated communities for the super wealthy and red light districts that led some very dubious business and commodities. So, it was no surprise that Zootopia would have prisons in it. Places where the criminals would be put away to fill their jail times away from society, so they could later be returned to it with their debts to society paid and would be able to reintegrate society as they would have been properly reformed.

Of course, these prisons would not be near the places where the "good mammals" lived, so they were somewhat far from the city, still, they were within reach for anyone who wanted to go there. For example, the police officers that came to check on a suspect for information. Relatives of the inmates who came to visit. And the criminals who were put in there, of course.

Nick had not lied to Wolfard when he said he was going to visit an old acquaintance, even though it was one that he had hoped to not _have_ to visit.

Nick had to take two subways and one taxi to be able to reach the specific prison that he needed to go, and soon, he was in front of there. A huge building with concrete walls, big windows with bars on them, and the overall "welcome to prison" look. A huge brick wall with barbed wire on top separated the outside from the front yard of the prison, with two burly boars with dart rifles on watch.

 _Yeah_ Nick thought to himself. _Good ol' Boarwood Correction Center_.

The fox approached the gate, and immediately, the two boars stood in attention, gripping their rifles as they looked at the fox.

"Hey there, guys." Nick said, giving a salute to the two boars, who stood in attention, and both tensed when they saw the fox reaching for something. The fox pulled out a pair of sunglasses, putting them on his face.

"The sun is terrible today, huh?" Nick said, and the boars continued to stare at him. "So, has visit time started already, or did I arrive too early?"

After a tense talk with the boars, and one of them giving a call to inside, the fox was allowed through the gates. Nick was scouted by a warthog, who kept giving him unfriendly glances, but Nick did his best to ignore him. Soon, Nick was in front of the responsible for the visiting, who was a pig who was far friendlier than the warthog. He stood on 5'2'' feet tall, with a chubby physique, as it was consider stereotype for male pigs, and he had mostly pink skin, but he had a tuff of wild black fur on top of his head, which seemed forcefully put in order by using a generous amount of fur-gel. He was wearing an indigo suit that made him look very professional, and his brown eyes focused into the fox as he approached, and he opened a friendly smile on his snout as the fox approached and smiled back.

"Officer Wilde." The pig said, offering his hoof for the fox, who shook it. "Good to see you here."

"Yeah, I could say it is good to be here…" Nick said, taking off his sunglasses. "But honestly, prisons make me nervous."

"Yeah, I imagine." The pig admitted. "I was surprised when you called yesterday."

"Well, I was also surprised when you answered." Nick said to the pig. "So, who would guess that a guy who used to…"

"One more word and I'll put you in one of these cells." The pig said to the fox, making Nick stop. The fox merely looked at him and shrugged.

"Well, anyway, it is good to see an old face, and to know that I was not the only one who turned my life around… You did turned your life around, right?"

"Yes, I did." The pig said proudly. "I'm glad to leave all of that behind." He stopped himself as he noticed the looks that the warthog guard was giving, and he cleared his throat, going back to business. "So, I really have to say this is a surprise. I mean, I know that you are in her visitation list, but I never expected to have you ever coming to visit her at all."

"Yeah, I didn't expected it either." Nick said. "So, I assume that everything is in order, right? Can I go see her?"

"Oh, everything is approved and in order." The pig said, "You would not have been allowed inside if it wasn't. She even knows that you are coming to see her. Still… Are you sure you _want_ to see her? I mean, some guys in directory were quite unsure of how she would react by seeing you."

"Will she be behind the bullet-proof glass?"

"Yes, that is how we do things here."

"Then I'll be fine."

With this, the pig soon was guiding Nick into the place where they visitation would happen.

"So, just to resume the rules of visitation." The pig said, as they walked to the door. "Normally you would be allowed for a max of one hour in there with her, but she will have therapy today this morning, so you will only have thirty minutes at most."

"It will be more than enough." Nick said, and he added, "So, she is really making therapy while in prison?"

"As per court orders. Prison time with therapy, if she ever wants to have hope of a parole." The pig said, and then continued with the regulations:

"You are not the only one visiting an inmate here, so you are to be as quiet as possible. This means, no yelling, no screaming and no cursing. That is, of course, for both of you." The pig continued, when they arrived in front of the door. Another boar was in there, and he approached with a metal detector. Nick soon was spreading his arms and legs to allow himself to be scanned.

"You are to be orderly and dignified during the visit, as not to cause a scene." The pig continued. "Either you or her can end the visit at any time by calling the guard. If any of you behaves in an inappropriate way or start to make a scene in there, an officer will end the visit immediately. Is all of that clear, Officer Wilde?" The pig asked, and Nick looked back at him before smiling his usual sly smirk.

"Clear as water, old buddy. So, shall we go see the devil in skirts?"

With this, Nick walked into the place followed from close by a boar. It was pretty much what you would expect to see from a police movie. The place was basically a long corridor with isles on each side, each isle led to a booth in which you were front to front with a bulletproof glass, with a telephone there that allowed you to talk to the inmate, who would be on the other side of the glass.

"On the left, the second-to-last booth" the boar informed, and Nick nodded, silently going his way.

As he walked, Nick saw that he definitely was not the only one making a visit to someone in that jail that day. There were other mammals in there, talking to their friends or relatives, who were inmates in there. Nick did not tried to eavesdrop into their talks, and neither he wanted to pry, this was not his business, still, his sharp senses, developed by years of being by his own on the streets, allowed him to somehow perceive what was going on, even though he didn't paid true attention to any of it.

Walking over, Nick soon reached the booth that he had been point at by the boar. Second-to-last one on the left. It was a smaller size of booth, one made for animals around his own size, as well as Judy's and, of course, the one mammals he had come in there to see.

Speaking of the wooly devil…

She was in there. It was possible to see that wooly ball of fluff on top of her head over the table on the other side of the bulletproof glass. Soon, urged on by the female pig officer by her side, and she climbed into the chair, while Nick sat on his own chair, and could take a good look at her in the first time in over a year.

She was only half the size of a regular ewe, with a big pom-pom like ball of wool on the top of her head, and with her big and floppy ears. She was now wearing an orange-colored set of clothing, with a nametag on her shirt. The glasses were the same, however, big and round and with a red framing, and behind then, her green eyes looked at the fox, in a cold way.

Yep, it was Dawn Bellwether all right.

The female pig said something – what Nick was not able to hear due to the thick glass separating the booths – to the sheep, who didn't even looked at her, before she walked out of sight. Nick had the feeling that she was still in the background, ready for anything.

For a long moment, they just looked at each other, Nick with indifference, and Bellwether with contempt, but both of them equally cold.

 _Okay, enough of that._ Nick thought as he reached out for the phone on the booth and took it to his ear. Bellwether continued to look at him for a moment, before she slowly reached out for the phone and took it, before she slowly took it close to her own hear and mouth.

Soon, for the first time in a long time, Nick was wearing the voice of that dreaded ewe, and she spoke very frostily to him:

" _Fox…_ "

Nick looked back at her, before he spoke:

"Sheep… So, now that the bleeding obvious is out of the way, I would like to have a word with you."

The sheep looked at him, and Nick could see a lot in her eyes. He could see, for instant, a lot of contempt that was directed at him. Nick had seen a lot of that during the time of her trial, before they put her away. The sheep continued to look at him for a while, before she spoke.

" _So… How is Judy?_ "

"She is fine." Nick said to her, "Not thanks to your attempts against her life, you know."

She looked at him, and for a moment, Nick thought he had seen a fickle of what seemed to be guilt in her eyes. The sheep blinked, and took a hand to her head, letting out a groan that Nick could hear through the phone. She recovered quickly, though, and now a cold assertiveness was in her eyes.

" _It was her own fault._ " Bellwether said. " _I did tried to make her understand, but she was insistent on siding with you chompers. She really gave me no choice._ "

 _Now that's the psychotic sheep I know._ Nick thought as he continued to look at the sheep, and soon, Bellwether was changing the subject.

" _So, I was surprised when they told me that_ you _, out of all mammals, wanted to see me._ " She looked at the fox with her eyes, and Nick only looked back at her. " _So… does this has a reason, or you just wanted to see me wearing the jail uniform, fox?_ "

Nick looked at her, and he had to admit, a part of him was quite of pleased for seeing that evil sheep who tried to turn him into a savage and kill his best friend in jail. Still, he had come in here for a reason. He had come for information.

"Say, Dawn… can I call you Dawn?"

If looks could kill, Nick would be one very dead fox with the glare that the sheep was giving him at that moment.

"Anyway, have you seen the news lately?"

" _They allow us to see two hours of tv a day, mostly to see soap operas and sports programs, but we do see the news once in a while. Besides, you know how they can smuggle radios and miniature tvs in here._ "

"Any chance you saw something about a busting to a ring of illegal fighting?"

" _Kind of. Bunch of mammals in an old warehouse watching a fight._ " She said, confirming that she truly knew what Nick was talking about. " _Why do you ask? Think I might have something to do with it? Because I don't, I have far more class than that._ "

"Well, the thing is…" Nick said, as he leaned forward, and said in the phone. "There was something that happened in there, and I think that you might know something about it."

" _Really?_ " Bellwether asked, " _And what would it be, fox? Because I can assure you I would have nothing to do with such events._ "

"It is about two animals I met in there." The fox said, "One of which said something much interesting regarding your name."

This peaked Bellwether's interest.

" _Really? What did they said?_ "

"Something on the line of 'Bellwether's arrest by the mundanes does not changes her power in the city', or something of the like."

Bellwether perked into her seat, looking intently at the fox. It seemed that this had _really_ caught her attention.

"Oh, you know something of what they are talking about?" Nick said, noticing the change in her behavior. "So, does that means anything to you?"

The sheep continued to look at him, and she said, " _Did they spoke anything else?_ " The tune that she used was not hostile, but was inquisitive, as if she was the one who was interrogating Nick in the matter.

"Well, the tiger I talked with said a few more things." Nick admitted. "He called me a 'freelancer', and said that I shouldn't 'use the name of the Wilde clan'. Does any of that say something to you?"

Bellwether kept looking at him, and she looked down, and she seemed to be thinking. Could it be that she was reflecting either or not she should reveal something to the fox?

" _So, he just came to you and told you these things?_ " The sheep asked. Nick didn't quite liked the direction things were taking, and he wanted to keep it on track.

"Look, I really would like some answers." Nick said to her, "The tiger seems to think that you still have power over the city even from jail, and I want to know why, also, if I should be worried about it."

The sheep continued to stare at him. " _I can end this at any moment, I just need to call the guard._ " The sheep said, " _You have come here to see me, so it just says how much you want your 'answers'. But I don't just give things to others._ " Bellwether said, " _So… you want me to tell you things, you will have to tell me things before._ "

Nick looked at her, and he pondered what he should do at that moment. The sheep seemed like she knew something, by the way she acted, and she seemed to want to know what Nick knew. That much the fox could tell, and the idea of giving something to that evil sheep, either it was an information or a sliver of bubblegum, was something that really bothered the fox. However, Nick knew that he needed his answers, and he had exhausted his own resources.

What would she even be able to do with such information, in first place?

Sighing, Nick decided to tell her a bit more. He gave her a very brief explaining of how he first met the two mammals days before. About what he had eavesdropped, and about how they vanished.

"That is basically it." Nick admitted to her. "I found it strange at the moment, but I kind of forgot it. I had other things to worry. The Darkest Hour happened on that night. You know what is the Darkest Hour, right?"

" _I might be in jail, but I'm not ignorant._ " Bellwether said, and she said: " _I know what happened in Fangtropolis. It was a time when they allowed us extra tv time, we were going to watch the concert when we saw it happening. I saw … I saw them all dying … I know that these… that these mammals all._ " Bellwether said, and she seemed to have a troubled expression. She winced and took a hoof to her head.

Nick perked a little at this, and he looked at her.

She took a few moments to recover, and now her look was icy as she looked back at the fox.

" _But still._ " She said to him, _"The city was mostly inhabited by savages. It is not like the loss was that great._ " She had a small smile as she said this, " _Quite convenient that it happened right when they were celebrating for them, right? Guess their plans for the Pred-Pride Concert didn't pan out._ "

Nick gave her a very icy look, as he struggled to keep his face as neutral as possible.

"Going back to subject." The fox said, "Do you know anything of what these two were talking? About the 'ley lines', or 'clans'?"

" _You would really like to know, wouldn't you?_ " Bellwether said, and she seemed to take pleasure in knowing that she had something that Nick wanted. " _Do you want to know what the strange mammals were talking about so you think that this way you will be able to understand what's going on._ "

She was testing him. Nick knew that, but right now, the fox had little patient for this.

"Look, you can be in the mood for games, but I am not. I have seen some pretty messed up stuff, and I want to understand what is going on. So you can either talk to me, or I can turn around and leave now, but don't waste my time, okay?"

Nick was as objective and clear as possible, and the ewe on the other side of the glass was now looking at him. Her expression was one of mild surprise. For a moment, Nick thought that she was just surprised that he had decided to set the path of the conversation by being assertive. However, it was only then that Nick realized that he had made somewhat of a mistake.

" _What have you seen?_ "

Nick could have groaned at his own mistake, but he was still keeping his front.

"Oh, I see a lot of things, Bellwether. Not many of them I would like to share with you."

" _What have you seen?_ " The ewe insisted, and the expression on her face made it clear that she was not going to let go of that specific matter.

"Just give me some information, okay?"

" _Tell me what you have seen!_ "

"Why should I?"

" _Because otherwise I'll leave now and let you to wonder if you really saw what you saw or if you are going mad!_ "

The ewe knew how to make a point, and the fact that she had said that was something that somehow confirmed to Nick that she indeed knew something.

Nick once more weighted if he should either tell her or not.

It was not of her business, seriously, but again, she would have no use to what he would say to her (as far as he knew). If anything, she was not going to believe him. Nick could care if she was someone he was close to and whose opinion he valued. However, she was just the criminal who had tried to tear the city apart. Who cared about her opinion? Nick surely didn't.

The fox took a look around, to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. He then leaned back over the desk of his booth, and whispered to the ewe on the phone.

"Okay. Here is what I saw…"

Nick knew that giving information on ongoing investigations was a serious fault an officer could make, especially when giving them to someone like Bellwether, who was a convicted criminal, still serving her jail time. Still, Nick knew very well that what he was telling her would not be in the official version, so the chances of it coming back to bite him were minimal. Also, it was very likely that no one would believe her if she tried to use it against him, as all he had to do was deny it.

Nick gave her a very brief resume of what he had witnessed, including the magic butterfly, the coyote with his rope, and the tiger who exploded the ground by stomping.

"… and Wolfard seems like he doesn't remember any of it." Nick finished. "As if they have scrambled his memory or something."

Bellwether had remained silent as Nick talked, and she looked at the fox very intently as he finished explaining. Her expression had morphed while Nick explained. From inquisition, she had gone into shock. Then she slowly morphed into a cold seriousness as she looked intently at the fox.

"So, do you think I'm crazy or not?" Nick asked her. The ewe continued to look at him, her face serious and stony.

" _Have you told about it to anyone?_ " She asked him. " _Have you told Judy?_ "

"Can you tell me something about all of that or not?" Nick pressed on. "What was that? Who were these two? What the heck is going on?"

Bellwether looked at him for a few moments. Then she sighed, putting her head down and shaking it slightly. Nick looked at her, and he could hear her muttering something on the other line. It was hard to understand for she was mumbling, but Nick could notice that she seemed distraught over something.

At some point, Bellwether winced slightly, as she took a hoof to her head once more. She trembled a little bit, but soon, she calmed down, and Nick now could make out better what she was saying:

" _I have to do it._ " Nick heard her through the phone. " _This is not some occasion of personal gain. It is a serious matter… I have to do it, the fox has seen too much… I need to do it… He have seen too much…_ "

The way she spoke made Nick really nervous.

The ewe soon raised her eyes, and she was now looking at the fox, as she reached out and removed her glasses, letting Nick stare directly (if you don't count the bulletproof glass) in her lime-green eyes.

" _Nicholas…_ " Bellwether said, as sweetly as she could, " _You have seen such strange things… You are so worried about them… You need to relax._ "

"H-hey. Hey! What are you doing?" Nick said, and the ewe continued.

" _So much trouble, so much worry… You need to stop worrying about it… It is not worth that much worry. It is not worthy putting you through this turmoil… You need to let it go… To forget it… Just listen to me and forget it all, let it all go… You can trust me, Nicholas._ "

Nick stared at her, and for a moment he had the impression that his vision as blurring. However, this passed as soon as Nick blinked, and he now looked intently at the ewe that was looking at him.

"Oh, you mean, trusting the crazy ewe who tried to make me murder my friend? What about, no?"

Bellwether looked at him for a while, surprised.

" _This… this should have… How? You don't have…_ " She said, but she stopped herself, and she looked at the fox. _"Are… are your circuits open?_ "

"My… circuits?" Nick asked her.

" _No, no, this can't be… They wouldn't have allowed you to simply go if you… If they knew… Did she lied?_ "

"Wait, who lied?" Nick said, trying to get answers. "If who knew what? What the heck are you talking about?"

Bellwether looked intently at the fox, and Nick knew it by looking in her eyes.

"You know exactly what is going on, don't you?"

She said nothing, and kept looking at the fox, as if _she_ was the one trying to figure him out.

" _The most fundamental basis is that you must be able to let them open and realize the exchange between yourself and the world around you._ " Bellwether said to him, making Nick look confused at her. " _Does that phrase means anything to you, fox?_ "

Nick stared at the ewe for a while.

"Okay, is that a guessing game? Because I don't have the slightest idea of what you just said could mean."

Bellwether scoffed, " _Then there is nothing to talk between you and me, fox._ " She said to him, " _You should just forget what you saw and try to move on with your normal life, just like she did._ "

Nick looked at the ewe, and she continue to look at him.

" _Yeah, you should just give up on everything and go on for a 'normal life', just like she did…_ " The ewe continued, and her face was hardened. However, she blinked a little, her expression softening as she looked down. " _She did deserved it… to have a normal life… after all she'd been through… S-she was so nice to me… GAH!_ "

Suddenly, Bellwether flinched hard as she grabbed the side of her head, groaning. Nick blinked as he looked at the ewe. She remained like that for a few moments, nearly a minute, actually, before she rose her head to look at Nick again.

" _Then again, she was weak._ " Bellwether continued, her face once more hardened. " _For a chomper, she just wasn't fit for it. It is actually no surprise that you aren't either._ " She was looking straight at Nick. " _If you did got involved you would probably be dead within a day, and they would never find your corpse._ "

The tone of her was very condescending, and Nick didn't quite liked it. Not to mention how weird that ewe seemed to be acting…

"Yeah, I guess you should add some hours to that mandatory therapy of yours." Nick said to her. "Either that or get a new therapist, because this one is probably not good."

She stopped smiling after Nick said that.

"I mean, you have been acting even more deranged than you seemed the last time I saw you, so I guess that therapist is not really helping. Did he got his degree paper from a cereal box, or something?"

" _DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!"_

The ewe's explosion was so sudden that Nick almost dropped his phone. The ewe was now standing on her chair as she looked at the fox with hate in her eyes.

" _Don't you dare talk like that about Krys!_ " She said to him, her voice dripping with anger. " _He was the only one in here who was nice to me! The only one who tried to help me in any way! He is the only… huhh._ "

The Ewe interrupted her tirade as she took a hoof to her head once more, and Nick was now looking at her. Not only that, but so was the prison warden that brought the ewe, and some of the prisoners who had gotten startled by her outburst, and now were looking to see what it was about.

" _H-he was nice to me… but he is just another…_ " The ewe said, as she was shaking her head and groaning. " _He helped me. He was nice to me… But he is just another one… B-but he is always trying to help me, even though I am mean to him… H-he deserves me to be mean, but still he tries to help me, and is so kind and thoughtful… But he is still… h-he is still a…_ "

Nick could hardly hear anything else, for in that moment, the ewe finally dropped her phone. Now she was on her knees with both hooves on her head. She was doubling over and she seemed like she was in great pain.

Nick could only look at her as the officer came and soon was taking the ewe away. Nick remained in the spot, and as he stared at the empty chair from which the ewe had just been taken, he was only able to think one thing:

_What the eff just happened?_

* * *

"Just what did you say to make her get like that?" The pig said as Nick was walked across the corridors. "They had to take her straight to the medical wing, saying that she was frantic."

"Beats me." Nick said to the pig. "I just asked her some questions and then she started to act strange." Nick said. "By the way, she was really strange back then, she kept having headaches. Maybe you guys should check her up."

"We already are." The pig said, "Oh, Wilde, I don't know what you two talked about, but it certainly made her really nervous. I can already imagine what her therapist is going to say-"

"You don't have to imagine." Said a voice from in front of them, and the two mammals stopped to look at the mammal that was in front of them.

The canine-like animal was about as tall as Nick, standing on around four feet tall, and his built was slim. He was wearing a brown coat, with a white shirt and black social pants. The fur on his head was reddish-orange, with white on his muzzle and down his neck, and the fur on his paws – which had black fingerless gloves in them – and feet was of a darker shade than the fur on his head. He was carrying a bag on his shoulder, and he had a long and bushy tail with a white tip. There was an extra scruff of fur on the back of his neck and head, which had been tied with little "pigtails". The fox's eyes were of a pale-yellow coloration, and they looked intently at the two animals.

"Mr. Pigford." The fox said, looking at the pig, who shrunk a little bit. "What is that I heard about my patient having a nervous crisis due to a visitation?"

"Oh… I-I, I just… I-it was… huhhh."

While the pig seemed to try and come with an explanation, Nick could only stare at the mammal in front of him.

_He is a fox… He is a therapist and he is a fox like me! And he is Dawn Bellwether's therapist! Oh, crap…_

Nick then noticed that the other fox was looking intently at him.

"Must I assume that you are the one who caused Bellwether to have a nervous crisis?" He asked, his tone professional, but his gaze icy. Nick all of sudden felt small under the gaze of the other fox, however, he managed to cover it up with his usual attitude, and he said:

"Maybe… Actually, I just talked to her a bit and she suddenly started to act strange. I assume that her therapy still needs some time to pay off." As Nick said that, the gaze of the other fox became even icier.

"So, I guess you two don't know each other yet, right?" The pig said, trying to break the tension that was building in between the two animals. "This is Officer Nick Wilde, of the ZPD, you probably heard of him already from Bellwether." He said to the fox in coat, and he continued:

"Wilde, this is Dc. Krystin Mieczyslaw. He is Dawn Bellwether's appointed therapist."

"Wha- 'Mitch sauve'?" Nick said, and the other fox was quick to correct him:

"Mieczyslaw. Me-etch-ee-sauve. M-I-E-C-Z-Y-S-L-A-W." The expression of the fox was indifferent as he explained it, and Nick continued to look at him.

"Man… that surely is a mouthful. Is it Zuusian or something?"

"Is Polish, Officer Wilde." The fox continued, "Now, if I might ask you: what was that you did to my patient to make her have a crisis?"

"Me? I did nothing." Nick said, trying to look as innocent as possible. "I'm just in there, talking to her, and all of sudden she acts like her head is hurting. Maybe the wool has started growing to inside of her skull, that would explain a lot of things."

The doctor continued to look at the fox. He seemed completely unimpressed and unamused.

"What exactly did you two talked about?" The fox asked, and Nick shrugged.

"Well, you can ask her yourself during the therapy. By the way you should try something new, because I think that whatever you are doing is not exactly working."

"So, Officer Wilde was just leaving." The pig tried to say. "Bellwether is just being checked, you can go and check on her yourself, it you want, Doctor." The pig looked like he was trying to avoid a situation from escalating, but the other fox was fixated in Nick.

"So, you really think that she is not progressing?" He asked the other fox, and his expression was not very positive. Nick said nothing, and the other tod sighed, "Yeah, I had an impression like that… I feel that we make progress, but all of sudden it is like something goes wrong and there is a set back… I just don't understand…"

The air sudden got heavier, and it seemed that the other fox was not satisfied with his work. After all, he was a therapist, and his job was to help the patients improve and feel better. Something that seemed not to be working with Bellwether, if what Nick saw was of any indication.

The fox sighed. "Guess I'm not a good therapist after all."

Nick looked at the vulpine, and as a fellow fox, he could not help but feel for him somehow.

"Well, you are not a _bad_ therapist." Nick said, "At least, Bellwether don't think so, seeing how she tried to defend you."

This caught the tod's attention, making he look up at Nick.

"Dawn- I mean, Bellwether defended me?"

Nick looked at him, and he was a little bit awkward in this. "Yeah, she did… You see, I might have made some commentaries about your work with her, and she didn't took it nicely. She told me to back off, or at least she tried."

"Tried?" The doctor asked. "What do you mean by ' _tried'_?"

"Well, it seemed like she wanted to defend you." Nick admitted to him. "But then she started getting strange. She was talking strange and it seemed like she was having a brute headache. She kept trying to say nice things about you and it got worse…" Nick said, and soon, he was saying something that was on his mind, even if it seemed to be strange.

"It was like trying to defend you made her head hurt."

There was a brief silence, and Nick simply shrugged. "Yeah, I guess that what happens if you hate predators as much as she does. Maybe you should try working along these lines with her." Nick said, in a playful tone.

"… yeah…" The fox said, seeming like he was in deep thought. "Maybe I should…" He was looking at the ground, and he started walking down the hallway, passing by both mammals as if he had forgotten of their existence. Nick noticed that while he was walking he seemed that he was mumbling something.

The two mammals walked as the fox in a coat walked down the hallway. Both of them in silence as they looked at this.

"Is he like that normally?" Nick asked, and Pigford looked at him, and shrugged.

"They say that he is eccentric, but very good. Or at least I was told." He said to the fox. "Do you believe he came all the way from Roarope only to be Bellwether's exclusive therapist?" The pig said, and this, of course, got Nick interested.

He looked at the walking tod a bit more as he walked down the hallway, before Nick and Pigford both went their own way down the hallway.

As they turned to leave, they failed to notice that the doctor had stopped and was now looking over his shoulder at them.

No. Not at _them_.

Dc. Mieczyslaw was looking very intently at Nick as the other fox walked down the hallway.

* * *

That trip had not been very much like Nick had expected. But again, Nick was not really sure of what he was really expecting of this.

Nick never truly understood why Bellwether had added him in her visiting list. Maybe because she hoped that he would one day come so she could see him in the eyes? Maybe she was a bit of a masochist?

Nick also wouldn't discard the possibility that the ewe had so little close people that she would include the fox who helped bring her down into the list of people who she would like to come and see her.

Still, Nick had decided to use it on his favor after his other attempts in finding answers proved fruitless. He decided it based only on what the tiger had said about Bellwether. It was a longshot, but it was still something.

The visitation has left Nick with more questions than before, and few answers (if any at all).

The ewe knew something, that much Nick was sure. The way that she spoke, and the things that she said. Nick could not make sense of most of it, but he still knew that she knew something.

Could he had been able to make her talk a bit more if he had put a little more pressure? Would she even want to talk to him and give him any form of answer? And what was that she tried to do when she told him to forget the thing and move on with his normal life? What was she even talking about when she mentioned "her"? Who even was "her"?

As Nick walked into the Zuber that had just arrived, the fox could only think that this trip did not gave him the kind of information that he wanted. Well, at least there was no negative repercussions on this little fieldtrip.

His cellphone dinged, and Nick soon was looking at it, to see that he had received a message from Judy.

_NICK! THE CHIEF RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM BELLWETHER'S THERAPIST SAYING THAT YOU WENT TO BOARWOOD TO HARASS HER! YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!_

Oh, crud…


	10. Talk Between Friends & the Memorial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confronted by his best friend and partner, Nick sees himself forced to be completelly honest. Meanwhile, a memorial is made for the victims of Fangtropolis.

"I can't believe that you did something like that, Nick! What were you thinking?"

Seeing Bellwether was not something that Nick had considered nice or pleasant, but still, the fox thought that he almost preferred that to what he was facing now.

Apparently, right after stopping by him in the hallway of Boarwood, the fox therapist with the long foreign name made a call to Chief Bogo's particular extension to complain about Nick going to harass his patient. How he had Bogo's particular extension was something that was beyond Nick.

The Chief, as they said, had apparently not taken it nicely. He wanted to fox to come back and to explain himself, until he was remembered that Nick had finished his shift already and that he had gone on his way to his off-duty time.

This seemed to have prevented the buffalo of going after Nick and dragging him to his office by the tail to give him a good talking down about the matter. Still, the big bovine made sure to tell Wilde that in the following day, as soon as he was back at work, he was going to pass by his office for a long talk on the matter.

However, the talk he as more afraid of was the one that he seemed to be about to have:

Bogo had not been the only one that had not been really happy with what Nick had done. His little bunny partner also didn't liked the way that Nick had acted.

Judy had become really surprised for hearing that Nick had went to visit Bellwether in the prison, and that he had (according to what she heard) harassed and bullied her until she had a nervous semi-breakdown.

All of that was unlike Nick, and she could not really picture Nick bullying anyone, not even the same ewe that nearly tore the city apart and nearly turned him into a savage. This was totally unbefitting of the Nick she knew, and that there was someone claiming that Nick had done it was something that troubled her.

She was sure to let it clear to Nick when she met him again, after she was done with her work and, consequently, with her shift, now being just as off-duty as Nick. She had met him in his apartment, and she was now having a conversation with him.

"Honestly, I cannot believe that you actually would do something like that." Judy said as she walked from side to side in front of Nick, who sat in his couch, looking like a kit caught painting the walls. This was something that Judy had the ability to do to others, to make them feel guilty about themselves for doing something that they had considered to be wrong. She was really good at calling others out for their faults. She had gotten particularly good at it since their first meeting.

"Going to Boarwood to harass Bellwether?" Judy said, and Nick immediately had to defend himself.

"I didn't go to harass her!"

"Then why did you go?"

Nick looked at her, and these amethyst eyes were nearly piercing as they focused on the fox. It was not the kind of hostile piercing that Nick had received many times during the course of his life, but it was an inquisitive one, one that insisted for the fox to answer.

However, Nick was not sure of how to answer.

"I… I wanted to talk to her." Nick said, looking at his own feet.

"Talk to her about…?" Judy asked, and Nick could not really answer that. Not without causing many more questions to be asked.

Judy sighed, she continued to walk around, and her face was serious as she walked. Nick ventured to look up at a moment, and he saw her expression. However, this was not an expression of someone who was angry or annoyed, it was more like… a worried parent.

Nick knew that because he had seen that same look on his own mother's face a more than a few times while he was growing up, after he had started to make poor life choices. It was the look of someone who was worried about someone else, and wanted to help, but somehow couldn't, because the person would not let themselves be helped.

Seeing Judy like that made the fox few bad, for many different reasons, and this really did made Nick want to say something, to tell her something…

"It was about those mammals I saw in the busting." Nick said, and this made Judy stop and look at him, inquisitive. "About the tiger and coyote."

Judy knew what he was talking about.

It was about these two mammals who had been in there during the fight, the ones who had have a meeting with Nick days earlier from that night, and that had been the very ones that gave them a lead that took them to the fight. The same ones that had, as per an incredible coincidence, been in there on the same night, and both had stopped at Nick's table before the fight started, and had tried to attack both Nick and Wolfard.

To hear that the same mammals had been the responsible for this was something that had truly caught Judy's attention. As soon as Nick had confirmed that he had indeed saw the tiger and coyote before, and that they were the same ones of the alley on that day, she had made her mind that she would help to find them.

She wanted to see these two caught to be able to look in their eyes for having attacked her partner. And also, to make sure that they would not try something like that again.

And now, Nick was saying that the reason why he went to Boarwood to talk to Bellwether had been because he wanted to ask to her about these two mammals in particular.

"Why do you think she would know anything about them?"

Nick looked at his partner, and he sighed. "Because… of what one of them said earlier."

Judy looked at Nick, and the fox explained to her what the tiger had spoken to him.

"He really said that?" Judy asked the fox, and Nick nodded. This was enough to put Judy to think for a bit.

Bellwether still had power even while being in jail? Could it be possible?

Of course, you always saw it in tv series and movies that some crime lords could still run their criminal operations and groups from inside jail. However, hearing about that in real life was rarer, because the mechanics of something like that were far too complex for it to be done as smoothly as they show on television.

Still, when you thought about all that Bellwether had done, imagining that she would still have supporters or minions out there, and that they could be working in here favor… the very idea unnerved Judy, because of what it could imply to the city, and to mammals like her and Nick.

"We need to take this to the Chief." Judy said, "It is unlikely, but if somehow Bellwether is still able to pull strings from inside the jail it is something that is worth of attention." She was deep in her introspection of the situation. "If that is really the case, then we need to arrange a warrant to keep watch over her visitation, and maybe on any phone call that she receives and that she makes. Maybe that could even lead to the arrest of co-conspirators that have not yet been caught, like Doug Ramses."

Nick looked as his bunny partner walked from side to side, evaluating everything. At one moment, she stopped, as if she had suddenly remembered something, and she turned at the fox.

"When did the tiger told you that?" She asked him. "Was it back when you first saw him? Because you didn't mentioned that at the time. And it was not when you and Wolfard confronted him, because I'm sure he would have mentioned that." She looked at him, "Was it when they talked to you in the warehouse, wasn't it?"

Nick looked at her for a moment, and he knew that there was no escaping this now. Nick had indeed mentioned in his reports that the two mammals in question had talked to him, one at a time, in the warehouse, before the busting began. However, he had not really talked about the subjects of these talks, once no one truly asked him something like that. Also, that would lead to some more questions that Nick himself had no real way of answering. So, in that specific case, Nick had adopted the posture of "don't ask, don't tell", in regards to that specific subject.

However, now there was Judy, asking him directly on the matter and, by the look that she had on her face as she looked at him, it was clear she would not just let it slide.

Nick sighed, and merely nodded. Judy looked at her partner in a serious way.

"Nick!" She said to him, "You should have told about that! Even if he was only saying things to try to get you to react, you should have told that so we could evaluate and see if this was truth! This kind of information is meaningful!"

Nick could only look down as Judy dressed him down. It was not easy to hear, but it was still better than what Buffalo-Butt would give him if he found this out. Nick was lucky that this was his day off and the Chief still had business to do in the station, otherwise it would be the big bovine giving him a dressing down and a through near-interrogatory as he stood in front of him. Still, he would have to face the buffalo by Monday, and Judy's talk to him was merely a tame preview of what was coming. It was somehow hard to face, still.

The bunny sighed, and she looked at the fox. "Well, you gotta tell this to the Chief by Monday, he will surely want to hear this, and he will not take it lightly that you upheld information like that. You saw how he is mad at Wolfard, didn't you?" She asked, and Nick had no choice but to agree with her point. "I don't know why you thought you had to uphold it in the first place. Well, I hope that at least going to see Bellwether actually paid off. Did she said anything in the matter?"

"Nothing that gave me clear answers." Nick said, "I mean; I'm sure that she knows something, but the way that she talked was somehow even more cryptic than the guys. I left with more questions than when I got there."

Judy nodded as she took in that new information.

"Maybe we need to talk with her deeply over the subject."

Nick tensed a little bit. "Yeah… I don't think that will actually lead anywhere, Carrots." The fox said slowly, knowing that questioning Bellwether on the matter would cause her to say a few things that Nick would not be quite able to explain.

"We need to get information on the subject." Judy said to him, "If Bellwether knows things on these two mammals then this could be very meaningful for the case. We need all the information that we can get, and if she can give it to us then we have to find a way to make her talk more. Maybe we can go in there together this time." She said, and Nick definitely could notice that she was somehow upset that Nick went after the sheep for information without her. "Maybe together we have a better chance of getting her to actually talk."

"I really don't think we need, Carrots." Nick insisted to the bunny. "I mean, I already tried and it ended pretty badly, so I'm sure the wooly devil will not want to see my face again. Besides, I would not have gone for her if I had any success with the other information. She was pretty much my last resource, and I didn't truly liked having to go search for her help at all."

Judy looked at him for a few moments, and she asked:

"What did you mean 'if you had success with the other information'?"

Nick flinched internally. _Crap, what is up with me today?_

Judy looked intently at him, and the answer to her question was already starting to form in her head.

"Nick…" She said, looking intently at him, "Have you been doing a personal investigation?"

The fox said nothing, only looking at her for a few instants before looking at his own feet. This was more than enough for Judy, and she had to say she was surprised. This was the same fox who had, along with Chief Bogo, talked her out of conducting a personal investigation on the case of the Darkest Hour because it clearly was not good for her and this was something that she should not focus all of her time on.

He had been conducting some kind of personal investigation of his own, and he had even gone so far as to going for no other than ex-mayor Bellwether to see if he would be able to find any information pertaining his investigation. Moreover, he did all of that without Judy's knowledge, what led her to believe that he had been doing it in secret from everyone.

She looked at Nick, and the fox seemed to be unable to meet her eyes.

"For how long have you been investigating this?"

If anyone else had asked, Nick would probably have come up with a witty remark and found a way out of the subject. However, Judy did had a certain effect on him, and he found himself without resolve or willingness to try and talk his way out of the subject, even because he was pretty sure that Judy would not fall for any of that, she already knew him very well.

"Since the day following the busting." He said, and once he saw the expression on Judy's face, he was quick in trying to defend himself. "But I didn't used any resource of the ZPD that was beyond my reach! Seriously, I didn't went around showing my badge to people on the street and threatening to put them away if they didn't told me what I wanted to know! I just made some research and looked into the internet and into the files, you know, normal stuff."

"Nick, you were still making a personal investigation!" She said to him, "And you are doing it in secret from the rest of the Precinct, aren't you?" Once more Nick said nothing, once more looking at the ground and not answering, and this said more than a thousand words to Judy.

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, Nick! You know that the Chief might not like you accessing the ZPD files in secret for something personal like that? Especially if you are doing it during your shifts!"

Nick was unable to meet her gaze once more. Now he behaved just as if he was a kit caught with his paws in the cookie jar, and he could not really bring himself to make his usual snark remarks in a situation like that. He just let Judy continue with her tirade, and he would use the next pause she made to try and to defend himself.

"And you didn't even told me what you were doing…" The way Judy said that made Nick flinch, because she somehow sounded hurt. Nick rose his eyes to look at her, and the bunny was looking away from him. Nick had a raised eyebrow as he looked at her. Was that some kind of trick now?

"We were supposed to trust each other completely." She said, and Nick felt guilt building in the pit of his stomach as he saw the bunny being like that.

Judy was sensitive, and that was something that the fox had learned as they became closer. She was mostly strong and independent most of the time, so much that many would mistake her by one of these hardcore girls you see in series that isn't shaken over anything at all. However, Nick knew from experience that the bunny was a lot sensitive in the inside, and that she did get really upset over certain things.

"Carrots, come on." Nick said to her, "You know I trust you."

"Then why you did it without telling me?" Judy said.

"Didn't knew that we needed to tell each other everything we did." Nick said, trying to be snarky and to get himself out of problem, but Judy was quick to counter it.

"We do when it is something so important that we have the need to investigate it." She said to him, "I told you as soon as I started to look into the Fangtropolis event. I even asked you to help me. You didn't accepted, but you still knew what I was doing, I didn't hid anything from you."

She had a point, and Nick knew that.

"I told you that because I trust you completely." She spoke to him. "Because I felt that I needed to let you know what I was doing."

Nick could not really answer to that. He wasn't even sure if there was an actual answer for something like that. He only kept looking at her as she looked back at him.

"I at least expected that you would do the same if you ever was in a situation like that…" She looked away once more. "Maybe I was wrong… maybe you don't trust me as much as I trust you."

Nick's eyes widened to that.

"I do!" Nick nearly barked, making Judy jump slightly. "Carrots… Judy, I do trust you." Nick said to her. "I do trust you like I trust few mammals in my life, including my own mother."

Judy looked at him as he spoke that.

"Is it just that…" Nick stopped, and he pondered at what he was going to say. "This whole thing is… is so complicated."

"Complicated how?" Judy asked him. "Two animals coming to you and saying meaningful things is strange?"

"A lot of things about these two are strange." Nick said, "The things they do, the things they talk about. And… all the rest."

"What rest?" Judy said, "Nick, what are you talking about?" Judy insisted as she looked at him. "Nick, you just said you trust me, but I'm pretty sure that you are hiding something."

"Yes. I mean…" Nick said, and as Judy looked at him, Nick reflected on what he was about to say to her, and he knew that he had to say something. "I… I am hiding something right now… about these two and the strange things I'm talking about, but it is not because I don't trust you… Is because…"

Nick sighed.

"Is because I'm sure that no one would believe me if I told it."

Judy blinked and looked at him. "No one would believe you? What do you mean?"

Nick said nothing, and Judy soon was taking her own conclusions.

"What, you mean, because you are a fox? Is it about McChill? Oh, please, Nick! Nothing he says about foxes has any base! Is all bigotry! You can't let it-"

"It is not about McChill." Nick said, cutting her off, and making her look at him once more. "And it is not about me being a fox either. It is because…" The fox made yet another pause, and he thought of what he was about to say. "It is because it is truly crazy."

"Crazy?" Judy asked him, coking her head. "How 'crazy'?"

"The kind of crazy that literally no one would ever believe if I told them." Nick said after a long pause. There was a brief silence, and Nick ventured to look at the bunny, who was looking at him with a questioning gaze.

"Nick, what do you mean?"

Nick looked at the bunny.

"Nick, I need to know. Please, tell me."

"You would not believe me." Nick said to her. "If I tell you, you will either think I'm making it up or you will want to put me into a straitjacket."

"What? No!"

"Yes, you will!" Nick said to her, "Dammit, I would probably do the same if someone told me that!"

There was a heavy silence following these words, and for a while, no one said a thing. Judy continued to look at Nick. The fox didn't met her gaze, but he could feel that she was still looking at him. Soon, Nick felt something landing on his paw, and he finally looked over to see Judy's kind eyes.

"Nick. I trust you." She said to him. "Please, have a little trust in me too."

The way that she was speaking made it hard for Nick to have the heart to discuss with her.

Darn adorable bunny faces!

"Nick, please tell me."

That was all Nick could take. The fox's reasonable mind was still telling him that this was a bad idea, that she would either smack him and demand the truth or call the madhouse and have him put in there. Still, Nick felt that he had no other choice but to open up with her and hope that she would believe him.

Sighing, the fox said. "Judy, do you know what Wolfard and I put on our official reports about what happened after we chased Kyle and his hencemammals?"

"Yes, I do." Judy said to him. "I read these reports."

"Yeah… the thing is… the things that I actually remember of that might not exactly match up what Wolfard described…"

Judy looked at him, and Nick soon was telling her what he saw in there.

He told her about the butterfly.

About Hudson Coyle with his magic rope.

About the tiger.

About how they got away.

And, of course, about his suspicions that they had, somehow, changed Wolfard's memories.

"…So, that is it." Nick finished, and he looked at Judy's face.

The way she looked at him, with a raised eyebrow, made Nick groan.

"See? I told you would not believe me!" The fox said, slumping into the couch. "You know, I don't blame you. I still can't believe it either!"

Silence seemed to be something that happened a lot in that room during that talk. This one lasted for almost an entire minute, before Judy spoke.

"Nick… I read both your report and Wolfard's." She spoke it with care, as if she was afraid of saying the wrong thing. "They both said pretty much the same story."

"That is because I wrote my report to match what he said." Nick admitted to the bunny. "It might have been forging my own report, but I had to! I could not write something as what I just told you as my official version of the facts, even more after I saw that Wolfard was not going to back up my story! If I did, they would yell at me for making such a joke! And if I convinced them that this was what I really thought that happened, I would be getting dragged to a padded room wearing a very snug straitjacket! I'm no fool, Carrots!"

Another pregnant pause, and Nick just was counting the moments before Judy would do either of these things.

However, the bunny simply looked at him.

"This is… quite something…"

"I know."

"And it truly is hard to believe."

"I know."

"And if others heard it, they would probably not be inclined to believe it either."

"I know…" Nick said in a defeated tune.

"So… maybe we should avoid telling it to anyone for now."

Nick perked in the couch, and he looked at the bunny, as she looked back at him.

"… At least, until we know exactly what is going on…"

Nick blinked as he looked at the bunny. Part of him was shocked that she had took what he said, even with it was with a grain of salt. Part of him was happy that someone at least seemed willing to give him a chance, even if his story sounded crazy. Part of him was somewhat surprised that Judy was even considering keeping something secret from her boss and co-workers.

"The story itself is hard to believe." Judy said, "And you are right into thinking that many would doubt it. So, until we have found strong evidence that explains it, we will have to keep it low from everyone."

Nick blinked again as he looked at her.

"… We?"

"Yes, Nick. _We_." Judy said to him, as if she was explaining it to a child. "We are partners, remember? If you are still going on to this, then I'm helping you. Because that is what partners… no, that is what _friends_ do for each other."

Nick was a tod who was used to hide his emotions and his thoughts behind a mask. However, even he found it hard to put his mask on, with the way that the bunny was making it clear that she was going to be by his side. Only true friends acted like that, and this was something that, for a fox like Nick, was something truly rare. Of course, he made many new acquaintances by entering the force and gaining many "brothers in blue", but he still had the feeling that some of them just tolerate him. Being once more reassured that he had at least one _real_ friend in the force was truly a nice thing for him.

"That… makes a lot of sense." Nick finally admitted, adopting a calm front and trying not to let it show how touched he was. "Still, this means that we will have to keep things hidden from the Chief, and you know how upset he is going to get if he finds out."

"Don't worry about the Chief." Judy reassured him. "As soon as we have evidence and we present the case to him, I'm pretty sure that he will understand why we had to keep it hidden for a while… I think. Or at least he will not want to fire us."

"We, let's keep our fingers crossed on that one." Nick said, showing the crossed fingers on his paw, and the bunny smiled at him, before saying:

"Nick, this kind of thing can raise a lot of questions if others are to get word of what we are looking into." She spoke to him in all seriousness. "It could land both of us in a tight situation, so I must ask you this:" She looked intently in his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure of what happened? Don't you have any doubt whatsoever?"

Nick looked back at her, and he said with a face that was just as serious:

"Judy, I know what I saw."

If he had just used her real name, Judy knew that he was truly serious at this. This was enough for her, and she nodded at him.

"Okay then. Now, let's go through this." Judy said to him. "We need to write down as many details as you remember of that event, and we need to look at them in parts, trying to find answers to anything that you could have possible seen. From there, maybe we could go for theories on what could that have been…"

"Actually, Carrots." Nick said, causing Judy to stop and look at him. "I was thinking of taking the day off to relax, if that is okay with you."

Judy stared at him.

"Look, I'm still keen on finding out what I saw, but right now I think we should take a small break." Nick admitted to the bunny. "I mean, we both had a very long week, and we both know what excess work can do to a mammal. I already went against my principles by going to that prison on Sunday while I was off-duty. I was wondering if we could relax now. Just take a day off and try to think of other things, so we can go back at it on full force later. Sounds good?"

Judy looked at him for a while, and even though she wanted to argue with him, she knew that he had a point. Even Bogo didn't liked their officers working too much time in a row, because it "diminished their efficiency", even the big buffalo recognized the importance of rest. Judy remembered a time that she was told to go home and rest after she spent three days in a row doing extra shifts. That was a time when she got a scare when the Chief told her to beat it and go home.

Sighing, Judy walked to Nick, hopped into the couch, and sat next to him.

"So, what do we do?" She asked.

"Well, I was thinking on watching some movies." Nick said, reaching out for the remote. "I mean, we do have a day when we watch movies, right? And we haven't done that since… last week."

Judy nodded, and with this, Nick pointed at the tv and turned it on.

As per irony:

A familiar shepherd was on the tv, wearing a white shirt and talking on a mic to the camera.

" _… and behind me, you can see the many mammals who had come to this gathering in the outskirts of what once was Fangtropolis, for the memorial of the victims of the tragedy that came to be known as 'The Darkest Hour'._ "

* * *

Henry didn't liked having to go back in there.

He didn't liked to have to be in there, looking at the remains of what once was a proud and beautiful city. He didn't liked to be in a place where many innocent mammals had lost their lives in the most horrible and unimaginable way. He didn't liked being in the place where he had lost one of his colleagues and dearest friends…

However, the bosses had sent him to cover live on the memorial for the victims of Fangtropolis. Henry had been tasked with it, just as the rest of the team that was on the place in the night that it happened…

Well, most of the team.

The cougar who piloted the helicopter had quit his job in the morning after, just like the antelope cameramammal.

Two of them were out on mental health leave.

One had vehemently refused to go back in there, saying that the place was "evil".

Still, most of the team had come, including Gilda. The big bear was in there, in the background. Standing proud on her seven feet tall, with her arms crossed, and wearing a dark-grey dress that made a nice contrast with her dark-brown fur. She had a professional look in her face as she oversaw the entire thing, her amber eyes focused on Henry as he continued:

"Today it completes one week ever since the disaster of the destruction of Fangtropolis. The searches for survivors have all but ended, a number of 48 survivors was found among the destruction of the city, predator and prey alike." The 5'4'' feet tall, brown and black coated Germanein shepherd dog continued, as he looked at the camera. "Today, a memorial is being held by many mammals who have come to pay their respects for the many victims of the Darkest Hour. Mammals from many nearby cities have come in here, and we think that the numbers are probably reaching the thousands. Some say that this event could have been one of the most catastrophic developments in this country in the past decades, with a total number of around eight million victims of all kinds and species."

"Up until now, there are no official answers to what this event could have been, while the government remains silent, the scientists are still puzzled, and the overall population still waits for answers." Henry said, and he looked at the camera for a few moments, before he spoke:

"Just what was this supernatural event known as the Darkest Hour? What could have been its cause? Those are some of the questions that we are waiting to see answered. Here is Henry Dogbert, back to you, studio."

"Aaand cut." Gilda said, and Henry was able to relax. Jasmine Zebrist sighed as she finished with the camera. She too didn't felt really good for being in there, but she knew that she had a job, even though some asked her if she would like to have mental health leave as well. She was strong, and Henry admired her for that.

"So, not bad…" Gilda said, as she walked to Henry. "Although, the 'supernatural' bit was not on the script."

Henry looked at her. "Yeah, it wasn't… but it seemed worth putting it in."

"They will give you an ear chewing for this." Gilda said, "You have been insisting in that for days already, and the bosses already complained about it."

"It is truth." Henry said. "Black mud has poured out of a hole in the sky and burned the city. There were faces and arms coming out of it. One of them was giant and almost grabbed our chopper. There is no way anyone will convince me that it was not supernatural."

Gilda looked back at him, and she sighed. Normally she would give him an ear chewing of her own, but right now, it was hardly the time, and she was still reeling seriously from the events of one week ago.

"Look, I personally don't mind your opinion on the supernatural thing." She spoke to Henry. "I even agree to you… kinda. I'm pretty sure that the guys don't care very much too, as long as it gives more ratings. But someone in the upper management really don't like this talk. They have even said that you could lose your job if you continued with the 'absurd and unprofessional opinions'."

Henry looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't get it either. Bottom line is: they don't like that you go saying that this even was magic, or anything of the like, and they are getting pretty angry that you are insisting in it, especially on work and while on air." She looked at him as she spoke that. "So, you better start being more careful from now on, because they will surely make some noise because of what you just said on live television."

Henry looked back at her, and he nodded. "Yeah, I'll remember that."

Gilda nodded back. "Good to know. So, since we are done here, you could help the guys back there. We are still low in team, and we still need to note down the names of the survivors, maybe collect a few statements from them, if they feel like talking. Could you do it?"

Henry saw no problem into doing that.

Forty-eight individuals had survived the Darkest Hour, and they all had been kept in there, in an improvised hospital that was made in there with tents and some equipment that had been brought by the medics that had came from the neighbor cities and of the military. While it had been days since the event, many of the survivors were still in there, both to receive medical attention and to remain under observation. Actually, it even seemed that the animals in there were being kept in quarantine.

Still, it seemed that the army and doctors were both relaxing, as they saw that whatever affected the city was not something that could be contagious or hazardous, as it seemed not to have left behind any hazardous pathogen or any kind of radioactive energy. At least, none that had been detected by the professionals of the area in the past week.

They didn't had full access to the survivors, of course, but their press passes allowed them to have some access. Along with the help of an old contact that Gilda had among the doctors. They were able to get some good information on some of the survivors, and they even got to talk to a few of them who felt good enough to talk. Of course, all the while they respected what the doctors told them, including respecting the well-being and privacy of the patients, and keeping certain distancing from them, just in case there was actually something.

They got a list of names, and also got some good interviews with a few of the survivors, some of them were friendlier than others…

"So, we got some good shots." Henry said to Jasmine as she checked on the camera.

"Yeah, it is nice that some of them were so friendly."

"Like that guy who says that he wants Leonardo Dicapolar playing him when they make a movie about this?" Henry said, and Jasmine only remained silent on this, before she spoke:

"I really liked the Graysons, you know, the father and son?" She said to him, and Henry nodded.

"Yeah, you are both really nice." He admitted. "The boy is really positive, and the way that his father cares about him… it is really nice. I hope they get a new home soon."

"I know… I feel really sorry for that young fox. His family is still trying to take him home but he is still in quarantine."

"Yeah, I'll say. According to the doctors, his paw got burnt pretty bad. They say it will surely leave a scar, even though there is no danger of him losing it." Henry said, remembering the young fox kit. "Have you seen how tired he looked? The doctors even said that he has been a lot of nightmares…"

"He was scared pretty bad by what happened." Jasmine said. "Like everyone else."

A heavy silence followed this, as the two mammals walked away from the barracks where the survivors were kept and attended to. As they walked, Henry casually said:

"Yeah, I guess this is done now." He spoke to Jasmine. "So, anything else?"

"Well…" Jasmine said to him, "Gilda also said that we needed to get a few testimonies of the ones attending at the memorial."

Henry nodded, and soon, they were walking to the crowd of mammals that had come to pay their respects.

Ironically, most of them seemed to have come either as curious or to try and get themselves in cameras. Some of them actually seemed that they had come either to record themselves or to take selfies. Henry felt a wave of nausea and anger towards these mammals, who seemed that they had no respect for those who had lost their lives in there.

However, there was also a good number of mammals who had actually came in there to really pay their respects to the victims. As it was the case of a family of llamas who drove sixty miles to be in there and to offer their prayers to the poor victims. Also, of a rhino who had a great friend who lived in the city. There was also a group of mammals, one of which gave a very heartfelt testimony to the camera while the others lighted candles in the background.

"Well, that was not half bad." Henry said as Jasmine turned the camera off. "We got some pretty good images and some good speeches of some mammals. I'd say it was a nice day." Henry said, but he noticed that Jasmine had stopped, and that she was looking at one of the many small altars that were made for the victims. It had candles mounted into a small table, with pictures and flowers. Among the pictures in there, was the picture of a familiar wolf, with greenish-gray fur and golden eyes, who was smiling into the photo, making a "V" for victory with his fingers.

"Wow…" Henry said, his ears dropping. "Someone put Frank's photo in here…"

There was a silence, and Jasmine asked, with a timid voice.

"Think it was a family member?"

"Maybe… I didn't recognize anyone from the crowd…" Henry admitted. "I actually haven't talk to his sisters in a while."

"Maybe you should…" Jasmine said.

"They probably don't want to talk to me now." Henry said to her, as the two both stood in front of the altar, looking at the picture of the deceased wolf. "They are still going through a lot. It was so sudden. And now they can't even bury him."

Another pause, and after a while, Jasmine found her voice once more.

"I used to be afraid of working with Frank when we first met."

Henry looked at her.

"It was mostly because of my father, he never had a good opinion in predators, and never tried to hide it." She spoke. "I used to be nervous around predators, but Frank was always very nice to me, and he was always trying to make me laugh. I warmed up to him after a while, and we became friends. I became friends with more predators after this."

She seemed to be deep in thought as she spoke that, and Henry continued to look at her.

"Back on that night, I… I tripped and fell. One of these things… I-it almost got to me… Frank came and hit the thing with a camera…" Her voice seemed to be breaking as she spoke. "I-if it wasn't for him… I-I could be…" She seemed about to break down in crying, and that was when Henry decided to do something.

He placed a paw on her arm, reassuring her. It could have seemed quite curious to some for a mammal like Henry to give comfort to someone who was considerably bigger than himself, but dogs, like Henry, were known for being supportive and friendly. It felt natural to him to give support to who was troubled. To some it was result of the instinct, to others, it was a proof that mammals truly were good in nature. To Henry, it seemed only natural.

She was able to recompose herself after a little bit of his comforting, but she was still sniffling softly. Henry stood by there and he looked down, at the picture in the small altar. Yeah, Frank was indeed an amazing guy, and anyone who knew him knew that. Henry had many found memories of that wolf, as they got along pretty great… maybe because they were both canines…

He still could not believe that he was gone…

There were things in the bottom of the small altar. Packs of candles of different sizes. They were left in there for anyone who came and wanted to light a candle for the victims. Henry looked at them for a few moments, and he turned to Jasmine, asking gently:

"Want to light a candle for him?"

She looked at him, and then she followed his gaze to the packs of candles left in there. She took only a few moments to nod in silent agreement.

Soon, the two mammals were kneeling, Jasmine putting the camera on the ground by her side, in front of the altar as Henry reached out for the packs and pulled two candles, for himself and for Jasmine. They lighted the candles into the ones that had already been burning in there. They dipped a little of the wax of their candles into the altar, and secured the candles in place.

Once they did, they remained kneeled in front of the altar. Henry sighed, and he looked at the side. Jasmine was now with her eyes closed, and her hooves together as she prayed for Frank.

Henry looked at her for a few moments. He was never religious, that was for sure. However, at that moment, he decided that it was good to follow suit.

Closing his eyes and putting his paws together, he started to pray the best he could.

 _Frank. I hope you are okay, wherever you are._ He said in silence on his own head. _You were a very good friend of mine, and I don't think I would have made as far as I did in this job if it wasn't for our help._

_You were a real friend, laughing with me in the good moments and supporting me in the bad ones. I could not have asked for a better friend to have in my work as a reporter. I really wished that you were still here, and that we could laugh together again, maybe share another crocodile steak. I'll remember you fondly, thank you for being my friend…_

As he prayed in silence, a single tear ran down his face.

_Goodbye, Frank._

Sighing, Henry relaxed, and used the back of his paw to wipe away that tear. Jasmine had also finished, and they were both still kneeling in there, when something caught their ears.

Sounded like yelling. _Angry_ yelling.

"What is that?" Henry asked as they both turned their heads, and it seemed that there was something happening in the distance. A crowd was starting to form in there.

The two reporters shared a look, and they got up, Jasmine picking up her camera, as they both started to move in direction to the place where the sounds were coming.

Most of it was hard to understand, but as they got closer, they could make up some pieces of what was being said.

"You have no right to say that!"

"You heartless bastards!"

"Judgement has been served!" A voice said, "It was served for them, and it will be served to all other sinners!" Followed this, many more voices were raised, some of them seemed to agree, but the great majority was throwing profanities at what was just said.

"What is going on?" Henry asked as he came closer, and someone who was in there, a gazelle, was the one who answered.

"Some guys who came in here." The male gazelle said to him. "They are some kind of cult, they came in here saying that what happened was an act of God."

"Say what now?" Henry asked, and Jasmine looked just as surprised as he was.

"Yeah, these guys, this wildebeest dude who seems to be their leader, he started to make some kind of speech about how God had decided to make judgement over the mammals of this world, and that what happened in Fangtropolis was divine punishment for legalizing interspecies marriage."

"What!?"

"That's absurd!" Jasmine said, clearly outraged. "First of all, interspecies marriage has been legal for nearly three decades now! Why would 'divine punishment' be delivered now? And why here? This is absurd!" Jasmine was clearly revolted by such claims. She was a religious mammal, and the idea of God destroying a whole city full of innocents in punishment for something like the marriage between different species did not sounded at all like the God she knew.

"Yeah, you should go and tell them this." The gazelle said, his face showing that he was just as disgusted by the speech as she did. "But, I don't think they will actually listen."

Henry was silent, but he was barely suppressing his urge to bare his fangs and snarl. Just who were these guys? Saying something like that? This was ridiculous!

Okay, so maybe Henry himself believed that it was supernatural, and he was not religious, but saying that God had made it to punish the city? That was truly ludicrous!

Henry knew what this truly was, it was just a group of bigots trying to take advantage of the event to try and sell out their own ideas and call others to their cause. Bunch of dirty vultures! Worse than any reporter! And that coming from a reporter himself!

Big events like that, either were they great gatherings, disasters, or whatever else, tended to attract these kinds of individuals, who only saw in it an excuse to profit, or to beneficiate either themselves or their own causes. Henry had saw many of these groups before, and he knew that they did not truly cared about the victims, the proof of that was that they were talking about them as if they deserved what happened, showing a total lack of empathy.

"Oh, I AM going to have a word with them!" Jasmine said, now going forward give a piece of her mind to those bigots. Henry did not tried to stop her for two reasons. First: because he knew that in the rare occasions when Jasmine got mad enough to raise her voice it was not a good idea to be on her way. Second: because he too wanted her to give her mind to those bigots, they deserved a good talking down.

"Man, she is fiery!"

A voice said, and Henry at first thought it was the gazelle they had been talking with, but saw that the guy was no longer around, and he then turned his head to look for the owner of that new voice, and he quickly found him.

It was a wolf. He was right by Henry's side, standing on 5'11'' feet tall. The wolf had gray fur on his head, with a lighter shade of gray around his eyes and on his muzzle-line. He was wearing quite an interesting choice of clothing, with it being grey like his fur, consisting into a jacket, a pair of dress pants, and a fedora. The fedora in particular called Henry's attention.

 _Who still wears fedoras?_ The dog thought.

The wolf stood by the side of the smaller canine, as his yellow eyes were focused into the zebra who had just walked off.

"Is she usually like that?" The wolf asked casually the dog. Henry shrugged.

"Only if you really push her buttons." He said casually. "Normally she is very…" Henry stopped as he sniffed something.

The smell… it was strange, but… somewhat familiar. It made him feel uneasy.

Henry sniffed a bit, as if he was trying to point out where the smell was coming from. It was close… almost…

"Do you agree with them?" The wolf suddenly asked, making the dog stop.

"Huh?"

"The wildebeest and his followers." The wolf clarified. "Do you agree with them? Do you think that God has really 'rain his sheer wrath over the city of sinners to make of it an example to the world'?" He was clearly quoting what he had heard, and the fact that these exact words had been used made Henry feel even more disgust them before.

"Hell, no!" The said, now wishing to go in there with Jasmine, find exactly who had spoke that, and give them a punch in the snout.

"Weren't you who said that what happened was supernatural in nature?" The wolf asked, making the wolf look at him. "Actually, you said it again today, not long ago, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, what happened was not normal." Henry said, "But I don't think any god made that!"

The wolf looked at him, and he smiled. "I totally agree, young man." The wolf sounded approving as he said that, and the way that his yellow eyes seemed that they almost shone kind of gave Henry creeps.

"But… if it was not 'divine wrath', what do you think it was?" The wolf asked very casually, and Henry shrugged.

"Beats me." Henry said, "I'm really not sure of what it was, but blaming the city for what happened is absurd."

"Once more, I totally agree." The wolf said once more, sounding very approving of the younger, smaller mammal. "The fault was not on the city. They merely got caught up in _their_ business. _They_ are really at fault."

This peaked Henry's interest, making him look at the wolf.

"Huh? Who are 'they'?"

"The ones who caused that to happen." The wolf said casually, as if it was something that was to be common knowledge. "Of course, they didn't truly wanted something like that to happen, some of them even had good intentions, but it still happened because of their actions, so it is still their fault."

"Whose's fault?" Henry asked, now looking intently at the wolf. The smell was still there, and it made Henry uncomfortable, as he was still trying to remember where he felt it before.

"They cannot really help it." The wolf continued, ignoring the dog's questions, but still talking, as if he wanted to share something. "They had their own goals and ambitions, and they all wanted to see them fulfilled. They could not help, having being born as such. These kinds of mammals are born in this world to live to their ambitions and to try to reach them by any means necessary. That is just how they are."

"What kind of mammals?" The dog pressed on, getting more and more interested by what the bigger canine was saying. "What are you talking about?"

The wolf finally looked back at him, and his yellow eyes were shining in a strange way. Henry felt uncomfortable, the smell seemed that it was even stronger than before. The wolf had a smile as he leaned forward, getting his muzzle closer to Henry's ear, and he whispered:

"Mages, Mr. Dogbert." The way the wolf said it was as if he was speaking of a secret. "I'm talking about mages."

He leaned back, and Henry could only stare at him, the wolf chuckled.

"You will find out more soon." The wolf spoke to him. "As a matter of fact… everyone will."

With this, the wolf started to walk away, and Henry continued to look at him as he walked.

Henry was not sure of what had just happened, but he somehow felt as if that was important, even though he was absolutely unsure of what to think from what he had just heard. But he did felt a little relieved that the wolf was walking away, something about him made Henry nervous, both the eyes and the way he smiled. Also, the smell was also getting weaker as the wolf got away.

Henry blinked, as he sniffed that scent one last time, and felt a wave of cold dread spreading on his body. He finally found out where the smell was coming from, and he remembered where he felt it before.

That wolf… had the same smell as the Darkest Hour.


End file.
